


Primal Instincts

by GanglyLimbs



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Slow Build, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:54:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 34,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2254920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GanglyLimbs/pseuds/GanglyLimbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael wasn't a hatchling, he could control his instincts. Except when it came to five certain men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Instinct to Protect: Michael and Jack

**Author's Note:**

> I just really really wanted to do something with dragon!Michael

Michael looked out over the crowd, unhappily sipping on his drink and trying to reel in his instincts. But it was so hard-fuck it was so _hard_ -when everything in him was screaming to go out and collect what was his. And rip the throat out of anyone who tried to stop him. 

They had decided to do an impromptu meet and greet at a popular night club. While Michael was all for the free drinks, the fact that so many people were touching what was his was driving him insane.

Michael huffed out a frustrated sigh and tried to drown himself in alcohol, though he knew it wouldn't do any good as his metabolism was too high for him to really get drunk. At least on human beer. The upside to this night was that Joel was as miserable as he was.

It had been hard at first-and honestly it still is-to have two dragons in the same building. In fact, a fight almost broke out the minute the two made eye contact. The only thing stopping them from burning down the building was the fact that Burnie and Geoff were giving them bemused looks. If there was one thing that could stop a dragon from reacting on its instincts, it was the threat of being discovered by humans.

Thirty minutes after being introduced to everyone and shown his space, Joel caught him in the bathroom, teeth blared and eyes glowing.

“Let’s get one thing clear, hatchling, Rooster Teeth is _my_ territory.”

Michael’s own eyes glowed and he returned the growl. “Well, it’s my territory now too. You’re going to have to deal with it.”

Joel had blinked in surprise at that, Michael guessing the dragon had never been challenged before. Pursing his lips, he nodded. “There are some here that are mine. Stay away from them and we’ll be fine.”

Michael usually would have bristled at being told what to do, but he respected matings enough to not say anything. He agreed and it’s been a tentative balance since then.

Now, Michael catches Joel’s eye and salutes him with his drink. Joel gives a wryly grin and raises his own in response. They find solidarity in each other’s misery as their mates are lost in the crowd, being covered in someone else’s scent, possibly being touched by someone else.

Michael hears a crack and looks down to find that he had cracked his glass.

Grimacing, he slammed back the drink and tried to go to his happy place.

Being back in a small space, surrounded by the smell and sound and warmth of his mates. Laughing, playing, and yelling, Michael felt a purr starting in his chest. Honestly, the Achievement Hunter room felt more like his nest than his apartment did.

Michael had been surprised when the need to claim had first risen. He wasn't one for mates as there weren't many dragons left and he had never lusted for a human longer than a night. Though, looking back on it now, he supposed it was inevitable. When dragons found something they liked, it usually wasn't long before they claimed it.

What would have made it better wad if his mates were actually his.

Really, the only thing holding Michael back from claiming them was that humans were weird when it came to sexuality and multiple partners. Michael didn't want to force them into something they weren't comfortable, so he settled for watching and waiting and hoping. He can be patient when he wants to be.  

If what he had been observing lately was true, then hopefully he wouldn't have to wait much longer.

Currently, Gavin and Ray were dancing together and wasn't that a pretty picture, to see their bodies rubbing against each other, their heads thrown back in bliss. Michael watched as Ray’s hands came to rest on Gavin’s hips, dragging the man closer.

Licking his lips, he forced himself to turn away from the tempting sight to look at Geoff and Ryan, who were currently laughing at something the older man had said. Michael gave a small smile at the way they seemed to be leaning closer to each other. Yes, hopefully soon.

Michael’s smile dropped when his eyes wandered over to Jack only to find the bearded man seemingly being harassed. Michael found himself blaring his teeth in rage as he made his way over to them.

“Come on, babe, don’t be a little bitch about this. Just a little quickie in the bath-“

“Hey, asshole, he doesn't want any.”

Both Jack and the unknown jackass turned to stare in surprise at Michael. Michael sneered as the man looked him up and down. Seemingly finding nothing threatening about the red haired, the man smirked.

“Why don’t you go home to mommy, kid? The grown-ups are talking here.”

Michael would have laughed if he weren't so pissed off. He was far older than anyone here-besides Joel-and he was sure as fuck stronger than the dickhead he was currently facing off with.

The man tried to turn his back but Michael grabbed his arm. The man’s mouth opened in protest, but a pained yelp came out instead when Michael squeezed. “How about you get the fuck away from him instead, while you still have the chance.”

Only the stranger could see that Michael’s eyes had begun to glow. He gave a shaky nod and Michael watched him run off before turning to run concerned eyes over Jack. “You ok, man?” 

“Yeah, thanks. He just wouldn't take no for an answer.” Jack said, running a hand through his hair.

Michael put a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Want me to stay?”

Jack smiled gratefully at him. “If its not too much trouble.”

The rest of the night was spent with Michael’s inner dragon humming in contentment. He felt like he had proven himself, protecting and comforting his mate.


	2. Instinct to Comfort: Michael and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan's sick and Michael is not OK with that.

“You guys suck.”

Michael winced and glanced over to the fair haired gent. Ryan sounded _horrible_ , and no matter how many times he insisted he was fine, Michael couldn’t help but worry for his health. Because Ryan didn’t sound fine. At all.

“Really, Rye-bread, maybe you should go home or something.” Michael said, again.

“No, I’m fine.” Ryan replied, his voice horribly throaty. His answer was followed by a short coughing fit that did nothing to help convince Michael that the gent should be talking. Or playing a game. Or at work.

“Ryan, you sound like your _dying_.” Geoff said through his giggling. Michael wanted to be mad at the rest of the guys for not taking the matter of Ryan being sick more seriously, but Michael knew that if he had been human he too would be laughing at Ryan’s vocal misery. Ryan didn’t really look sick; his eyes were clear, he walked fine, and he hadn’t thrown up the whole time he’d been here. If it weren’t for his voice and slight sniffling, they probably wouldn’t even have known that he wasn’t feeling anything but his normal self.

But Michael wasn’t human. His dragon was going into overprotective mode, wanting nothing more than to wrap himself around Ryan, chirping and purring and making low noises till the man fell asleep and keep him in bed for a week. But Ryan wasn’t his (yet) and knew nothing of his true nature, so he gritted his teeth, swallowed his sounds of comfort, and continued to play the game.

When lunch time came around, Michael couldn’t handle it anymore. Each cough and sniff chipped away at his self-control.  He practically ran to his car and cursed how much slower driving was compared to flying.

Ryan was surprised when a bottle of cough syrup was slammed on his desk, along with cough drops and two bottles of water. Looking up he found a pouting Michael who had his arms crossed over his chest and a blush high in his cheeks. 

“Michael, seriously, I’m fine.” But Ryan said it with a smile and Michael’s stance loosened a bit.

“It’d just make me feel better if you took something.” He grumbled. Shifting from foot to foot, he waved awkwardly before sitting back at his desk.

The next day, Ryan found hot soup and more water on his desk. He glanced over at Michael, who was editing a Rage Quite and ignoring the gent.  Smiling, he eat the soup, sure to make hums of contentment.

Later, when Ryan had come back after being called away to fix a technical problem, he found that his chair had blankets and pillows piled on it.

When Michael caught Ryan raising his eyebrows at him, he just shrugged. “Just making sure you’re comfy and warm.”

By the end of the day, Ryan swore his desk was being overrun by water bottles. He had drank them at first, just to be polite. But with every empty bottle a new one showed up, and after his third time having to run to the bathroom, he settled for just setting them to the side. The downside to this was that it got Michael started prompting him to drink more. He only stopped once Ryan let out an exasperated “I’m _fine_ , Michael.”

Later, Geoff cornered Michael when the lad went to get himself something to snack on. “What’s up with you? Ryan’s not dying you know, right?”

Michael fidgeted a bit. He knew that, but one of his mates was ill! He had to do something, in some way. His need to comfort had to be fulfilled in some way or he would go crazy. “I just want him to be better is all. Have you heard him? The stubborn fucker shouldn't be at work.”

Geoff look startled at the growl that worked itself into Michael’s voice before shaking it off and putting a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder. “Ryan’s fine. Plus, he’s starting to sound better. You don’t have to worry so much.”

Michael didn't think that was possible, but nodded anyway. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The rest of the day was spent with Michael forcing down his worries and his dragon was left restless the whole night, figuratively pacing and growling. He kept tossing and turning, his desire to go to Ryan manifesting into nervous energy. Several times, Michael got up to get a drink of water, only to decide he wasn't thirsty and return to bed. Michael went to work the next day, tired and grumpy, only to stop short at the new controller on his desk. Ryan stood beside it, uncharacteristically shy, hands twisting around themselves and biting his lower lip in that adorable way he did sometimes.   

“I wanted to say thanks for looking out for me the last couple of days. I remember you complaining because you cracked your old controller. So I, uh, got you a new one.” His voice was almost back to normal, although a bit weaker.

Michael was on the edge of purring, the rumbling sound stuck in his throat. His mate was better, thankful, and got him a gift. His dragon wanted to show Ryan how much he _really_ appreciated the gift. Instead, he settled for giving Ryan a quick hug. “Thanks, Rye-bread.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop. Dragon!Michael has become my favorite thing to write about.


	3. Instinct to Provide: Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray is skipping lunch and Michael decides to help.

Ray was probably the best gamer at Rooster Teeth. No, scratch that, he _is_ the best gamer at Rooster Teeth and Michael loved that. It was a source of pride for him whenever he mentioned Ray’s gamerscore (which he may or may not purposefully bring up in conversations sometimes) or when he overhears someone praising Ray. It always brought that ‘That’s my mate’ feeling. And he knew it was also something that Ray was really proud of too. Michael would never want to say or do anything to take that away from the lad.

But sometimes, when Ray was obsessing over an achievement he just couldn't get, Michael wished he could.

It they let him be, Michael would bet anything that Ray wouldn't stop until he collapsed from exhaustion. Geoff would sometimes even have to force Ray to go home. What worried Michael the most was that Ray would skip lunches.

“Ray, you want to come to lunch with us?” Michael asked, Gavin peeping into the room behind him.

“Nah, still working on this achievement.” Ray didn't even look up from his screen.

“Come on, X-Ray. It’s a Lad lunch, just us.” Gavin pleaded.

“I’m good. Shit.” Ray’s fingers were working furiously on his controller.

Michael frowned. “You haven’t eaten all day, Ray.”

“Seriously, I’m fine.”

“But-“

“Fuck! I have to start over. Really guys, just go on without me.”

Michael kept his scowl all through lunch, up until Gavin noticed they weren't on their way back to work. “Michael, where are we going?”

“Ray didn't eat.” Michael said, glaring out the window.

“Yeah, so?”

“So the fucker needs to eat.”

“Ray will be fine without one lunch.”

Michael gritted his teeth. “One lunch will become three lunches, then before we know it a month has gone by and he’s starving himself.

Gavin blinked before putting a comforting hand on Michael’s arm. “It won’t be like that. He eats at home.”

“How do you know that?” Michael snapped.

“Because Ray loves food too much to starve himself.” Gavin joked, smiling as Michael let out a surprised laugh.

Michael’s hands unclenched from the steering wheel, his human side realizing how irrational he was being. “Still going to buy the fucker a lunch.”

Ray jumped in surprise at the Lunchable dropped onto his desk. Pausing his game, he looked up at Michael. “I said-“

“I know what you said and I’m calling bullshit. Just eat it, Ray.”

Ray frowned. “I don’t have time. I just need to beat-“

“Look. I’m not saying stop. I’m just saying that every time you die or are waiting at a loading screen, just take a bite.” Ray was still frowning, so Michael sighed. “If you do that, I’ll stop nagging you. Deal?”

Ray stared at Michael’s stubborn expression before giving in. “Fine, deal.” Opening up the packaged, he ate one of the crackers, giving Michael his best ‘Are you happy, now’ face. Michael just smiled.

Under Michael’s watchful eye, Ray finished the Lunchable. This continued for the next three days until Ray finally, _finally,_ got the achievement. Michael took him and Gavin out to celebrate at Ray’s favorite restaurant. And so began the tradition of Michael bringing Ray lunch whenever the lad found himself working through their breaks. This also eventually expanded to Gavin once the Brit got swamped with all his other responsibilities.

_~Line~_

Michael stood in the aisle of the closest grocery store, deciding what he should get. Ray was probably getting sick of the Lunchables, but they were the easiest to do.

‘Maybe a small sandwich?’ He mused.

His nostrils suddenly flared with the smell of smoke and fire. Whipping around, Michael scanned the crowd. Kids whined for candy while their parents tried to continue shopping for food and there was a group of teenagers hanging around the back, laughing at nothing he could assume was good. Conversations of what happened over the weekend and what will happen this weekend mixed in with discussions on the cheapest brand. Nothing out of the ordinary.

But Michael could have sworn that just for a moment he caught the whiff of another dragon. And it sure as dicks wasn’t Joel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! A bit of plot. Thanks for reading so far.


	4. Instinct to Prove Yourself: Michael and Gavin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has an ego, what can he say?

“Ryan! Ryan, no!”

“Come back here and take your killing like a man.”

“Oh, Gavin, you’re in for it now.” Geoff laughed, his avatar watching as a kilted man with a diamond sword chased a creeper.

The creeper turned around and Gavin yelped as he saw how close Ryan was. “Michael! Michael, help me!”

“I’m coming boi.” A bear joined in the chased, holding his own diamond sword and took a few swipes at Ryan. “Surprise bitch, Mogar’s got you now.” Ryan tried to fight back but he was no match for Michael’s fighting skills and was quickly defeated. “Fuck yeah! Team Nice Dynamite, right Gavin?”

“Team Nice Dynamite, Michael.” Gavin replied as his creeper made its way back to Michael’s avatar. The two started their crouching dance, giggling at the call of ‘Gaaaayyyy’ from Ray. “Thanks, my lovely boi.”

Heat shot down Michael’s spine and settled in his stomach. He forced back his call of victory, but couldn’t help puffing out his chest just a bit. As it was whenever they usually teamed up, Michael ended up basically being Gavin’s bodyguard as they competed in the Let’s Play. Not that his dragon could complain too much. It settled that part of him that wanted to prove to its mates how worthy he was.

The instinct to prove himself was his most basic instinct. When he boiled everything else down, the need to make sure his future mates knew how worthy he was drove all his other instincts. Every time the others commented on his skill in a game or when he wrestled with Gavin and pinned him down or when he would casually lift something heavy in front of them or when he completed one of the other’s stupid challenges, it all fed his ego.

It was why he didn't mind Team Nice Dynamite, even though they never won when the two teamed up. Gavin would always relay on him in those instances and his dragon practically lit up with the chance to show the Brit just why Michael was the perfect mate. Speaking of…

“Hey, boi, swimmy bevs later?”

“Yeah, boi. As long as you try not to drown me this time.”

“No promises.” Michael smirked. Why would he pass up the chance to wrestle with a wet Gavin? His dragon was already purring at the thought.

_~Line~_

“Michael, what’s wrong?” Gavin asked, swimming over to the lad.

“Nothing, Gavin. Just thinking.” Michael lied, smiling to calm him. Gavin looked like he didn't believe Michael, but he didn't say anything else, instead swimming over to splash Geoff.

Since it was Friday, Michael had convinced the rest of the Hunters to come over to his apartment to swim, even going so far to promise food for Ray. Michael was bit annoyed that word had gotten out and a few others had shown up, as he was hoping for an evening with just him and his mates. Even more so that Joel came along, mostly to keep an eye on his own mates. The two have worked together long enough that any territorial urges had disappeared, but the two were still cautious when it came to their human mates. Michael certainly always made sure to watch carefully when his mates had to work with the older dragon.

Besides the annoyance of extra people and a surly dragon, the night had been going great. Geoff had volunteered to cook and there was enough booze to make sure everyone would have a good time. He had even got to wrestle with not only Gavin, but Ryan and took great pleasure in the shock on the gent’s face when Michael easily pinned him down. Then Team Nice Dynamite won in a game of chicken and Michael carried Gavin around for a victory lap.

But then he caught the smell of fire and smoke. He tried to look around as inconspicuously as possible for the source but found nothing. It was definitely another dragon. His nose hardly picked up on Joel’s scent anymore, so it wasn't him.

Looking over at Joel, he noticed that he too was looking around. The two caught each other’s eye and nodded. “Hey, I forgot I had another cooler in my apartment. Anyone want to help?”

“I’ll help.” Joel quickly volunteered.

“Joel doing something for someone else? Are you ok?” Burnie joked.

Joel tried to causally shrug. “I’m not doing anything other than burning out here. At least I’ll be able to enjoy the cool air inside.” Everyone laughed and went back to what they were doing.

As soon as the two rounded the corner, they felt their teeth itch to bare and their wings ache to come out, territorial urges rising as they neared the source.

“Well hello boys.”

Strolling confidently towards them was a tall brunette. Raking his eyes over her, Michael sneered. She was nothing to look at (not when compared with the beauties he shared an office with), just a tall leggy woman with glowing green eyes. “This is our territory. Get out.”

“Straight to the point I see.” She grinned, long teeth showing. “I like that. I’m not here for long, just flying over. In fact, I’d be gone by now if I didn't smell two more of my kind.”

“This is where our nest lies, yes.” Michael was surprised by how much calmer Joel was compared with him. That might have been because, while the woman was a threat, Joel only had one mate to protect here. Michael had all five of his. “You claim you’re harmless, yet you purposefully seek us out. Why?”

The woman glanced over at Joel before her eyes focused back on Michael. Michael could feel the sudden tension in Joel’s body at the disrespect she was showing him. It almost made Michael snicker. “It’s been a long time since I've last been with any of our kind. You boys want to go for a round or two before I leave?”

Michael snorted. “No thanks. I already have mates.”

“Same.” Joel muttered.

“Oh?” The woman looked between the two men.

Michael burst out laughing and he was pretty sure Joel cringed at the implication. “Fuck no, I’m not with him. That’s just disgusting.”

Now the woman just looked confused, tilting her head to the side. “I do not understand. You two are the only dragons I've smelled here.”

“My mates aren't dragons. They’re human.”

“Humans? You mate with humans.” The woman sputtered, disgust taking over the confusion.

“Yeah, you have a problem with that?” Michael’s own teeth were now bared, eyes glowing orange.

The woman’s face scrunched up. “What self-respecting dragon mates with a human? You’re certainly not ugly enough to turn towards that.”

“Thanks. I've always wondered if I was pretty to other dragons.” Michael snorted. “I don’t give a shit. I've chosen them and they are mine.”

The woman considered him for a moment before smiling. “Ah, I understand. You've never been with another of our kind and have decided to settle with humans. How cute. You know, I love showing others the wonder of being with our own kind.”

Michael gritted at the woman’s coo. “Fuck you. I've been with plenty of dragons. I just decided these humans were for me.”

Now it was the woman’s turn to snort. “Impossible. No one chooses humans over dragons. You must not have been with a real dragon. But I can change that, honey.”

“Fuck off. I don’t need my opinion to change. I need you to leave and never come back. Got that? Good.” Without looking back, Michael walked off. Joel quickly caught up with him.

“Good going, hatchling. That was very smooth of you.”

“What, you think I should have taken up her offer?” Michael growled.

Joel shook his head. “No, but she’s not going to leave now. You issued a challenge and until she convinces you that dragons are better than humans, she’ll be around.”

“She comes anywhere near my mates and I’ll kill her.”

Joel just shook his head again.

Gavin was the first to notice that they were back, leaving from where he had been talking to Jack and running up to greet Michael. “Michael, my boi. Where’s the cooler at?”

“Huh?”

“You said that you had left a cooler in you apartment and took Joel to go get it.”

“Oh. Yeah, I, uh, guess I just imagined that. Fuck, I must be more drunk than I thought.” Michael said sheepishly.

Joel rolled his eyes. “Dragged me all the way up there for nothing.”

Gavin still looked suspicious, so Michael picked him up bridal style. “Ready to return to the pool, boi?”

“No, Michael. Michael, stop. Help, help.”

Michael grinned at Gavin’s useless wiggling, only holding tighter.  His dragon calmed somewhat with the scent of mate, but he couldn't help worrying at what Joel had said. Even he knew this wasn't over.

 


	5. Instinct to Fight: Michael and Geoff Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The woman wouldn't leave him alone. Michael was getting tense.

The next few weeks were tense for the two dragons. It seemed everywhere they went, they were followed. The scent of fire was thickest around the office, which caused the most trouble. Their shift in behavior was very noticeable, the two having a sudden urge to follow other people around and then refusing to tell why. Joel had about worn a hole in the carpet as he made his way from Burnie to Matt to Gus and then back again to Burnie. Michael overheard Burnie joking with Barbara that they needed to force sleeping pills down Joel’s throat if they wanted to get any work done.

Michael was angrier and more physical, another dragon who showed disregard to his mates being so close driving his instincts up the wall. It had gotten to where several times a day someone asked if he was ok. Geoff had even pulled him aside and asked if he wanted to go home. The thought of leaving his mates alone with a loose dragon made him shout out “No” before he could stop himself. Blushing at the shocked look on Geoff’s face, Michael had muttered that he was fine and had quickly left. He tried shoving his anger down for the rest of the day, but he still caught the others giving him concerned looks.

With each day winding him up, it really shouldn’t have surprised Michael that he blew up the next time the dragon made their appearance.

“Hey, sugar. You changed your mind yet?”

There was brief silence before the sound of glass shattering echoed in the parking lot. Michael slowly turned around, face blank. It had been a long day after fucking up his Rage Quit and having to do it over again which forced him to stay behind. He just wanted to go home.

“I suggest you leave before I tear your fucking head off.”

“Oh come on.” The woman walked towards him, hips swinging. Michael could feel his lip curl, canines gleaming in the lamp light. “I just want a little _fun._ ”

“Fuck off. You’re not getting anything from me.”

“Michael? Is everything OK here?”

Michael cursed himself for not realizing that Geoff had come out. The woman noticed his shift of posture, as if he was a second away from running to the human. With a gleam in her eyes that Michael knew nothing good could come out of, she turned towards Geoff.

“So you’re the reason why I’m not getting any action.” She purred, though only Michael could hear the threating growl in her voice. “Maybe if I take care of you, our little dragon here will give in.”

That was the final straw of Michael. Whatever control he had on his most primal side was gone with a snap and the last thought of ‘ _Must protect mate’_.

Faster than even she expected, Michael grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. He was one her a second later, a roar ripping from his throat. Michael could feel that not only did his wings rip from his shirt but that his tail was loose too. The woman’s claw were drawn, mouth opened to display all her sharp teeth, but Michael couldn’t give a shit. His teeth gripped her throat, not biting fully but enough to taste blood. He growled once again, the sound vibrating against her bones. The woman whimpered before her whole body went slack. Michael held on for a few seconds more before letting go.

“Go. Leave this city, this state, this country. I don’t care. Just stay away from me and my mates before I change my mind and kill you.”

The woman whimpered once more before scrambling to get up. Michael watched her run for a few feet before she took off to the sky. Once he could no longer smell her, he finally relaxed.

“M-Michael?”

Michael whipped his head around and caught Geoff’s flinch.

“Holy shit. What are you?”

Mother. Fucker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms are welcome.


	6. Instinct to Fight: Michael and Geoff Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff's freaking out. Michael doesn't know what to do.

Mother. Fucker.

Geoff was staring at him, mouth open and horror written all over his face. Michael’s stomach dropped. This was not the way he wanted them to find out.

“G-Geoff.” Michael paused. Licked his lips. “Geoff, it-it’s ok.”

“Nothing about this is OK. Michael, what are you?” Geoff croaked out. He had backed up to the side of the building, hands gripping the bricks. Even from where Michael was standing, he could see the way Geoff’s chest was rising and falling too fast.

Michael took a step towards Geoff, trying not to feel hurt at the way Geoff sucked in a breath and try to back up more. “Geoff, calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“S-Stay where you are.” Geoff was choking on his fear, the air not coming fast enough for him. He felt like he was going to pass out. He saw Michael freeze and something like pain flash across his face. Guilt stirred within Geoff. Though he looked different, with fucking wings and a tail protruding from his back, it was still _Michael_. The loud mouth Lad that kissed his ass for fun. The one that had grown to be part of the makeshift family they were making in the office. One of the people who he may have deeper feelings for.

Geoff took a calming breath. “Just…answer my question. What are you?”

“I’m a dragon.” Michael’s voice was blank.

“Those don’t exist.” Was Geoff’s automatic response.

Michael snorted. “OK, then you’re hallucinating this whole thing and will wake up thinking ‘what the fuck am I on’?

Geoff gave out a surprised laugh. “OK, OK…so you’re a…dragon?” At Michael’s nod, he continued. “How long have you been a dragon?”

“Geoff, this isn’t fucking _Twilight_. I was born a dragon, my parents were dragons, if I had any Uncles or Aunts or cousins they would be dragons too.”

Geoff had to smile at that. “Right. OK. You’re a dragon.” That statement seemed to hit Geoff hard. “Shit, you’re a fucking dragon.”

Michael hesitated before slowly making his way towards Geoff. “I know this is a lot to take in. But Geoff.” Michael’s voice was pleading. “Geoff, it’s me. Michael.”

Geoff stared at Michael as the dragon came closer. Geoff could feel his stomach tighten and the urge to run rise. _This is Michael. This is Michael. He would never hurt you._ Geoff repeated that over and over.

Michael stopped right in front of Geoff. “Geoff. I’m still Michael.”

Geoff closed his eyes. “I know. I know. It’s just…a lot to take in.”

Michael nodded. “I understand.” Yet Michael could still smell the fear coming off the Gent.

“It’s just. Could you put away your, um, appendages?”

Michael looked back at his wings and tail in surprise, having forgotten that they were even out. “Yeah. Totally. Just give me a minute.” Normally, all he would have to do was just think it and they would be gone. But having them come out during a fight, plus the scent of distressed mate so close by, was making it extremely difficult. Michael focused on one wing, imagining that it wasn’t there, was back to being part of the tattoo on his back. Once he did that to both wings, he imagined that his tail was gone, was instead the tattoo on his lower back.

Geoff watched in awe as the wings and tail just disappeared. “Ok. So, that wasn’t freaky or anything.”

“You were the one who wanted them gone.” Michael reminded him.

“Yeah, I know. Or I don’t.” Geoff ran a hand through his hair. “I’m confused. About what’s happening.”

“Nothing to be confused about. You happen to hire a dragon.” Or two. But Michael wasn’t about to rat out Joel. Though he couldn’t help but want the older dragon here. Maybe he could smooth things over quicker. Then again, this was Joel he were talking about.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Geoff let out a sigh. “Ok. Ok. Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Yeah, Ok. I can get over this. Like I said, I _know_ it’s you. It’s just taking the rest of me to figure that out. Let me sleep on it?”

Michael nodded. “Yeah man. Do whatever you need to do. You going to be ok going home?”

Geoff’s smile was soft and gave Michael hope. “Yeah. You going to be ok?”

“Of course. I have two modes of transportation, remember?” Michael winked. Giving a little wave of goodbye, he made his way to his car. Michael refused to look back.

Hopefully tomorrow will go smoother.

_~Line~_

Michael was, understandably, nervous.

He was standing outside their room, staring at the door. He could hear the other Hunters inside, chatting with each other. Above all the others, he could hear Geoff’s voice.

Michael was startled when the door was opened. Geoff’s surprised face stared down at him. Michael gave a weak smile and waved. “Hey.”

Geoff gave a quick look back before stepping out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Michael’s heart started pounding.

“Hey.” Geoff’s smile was uncharacteristically shy. “So. Last night was a thing.”

“Yeah. It was.” Michael watched Geoff carefully. “We good.”

“I think so. At least, I’m not freaking out anymore.” Geoff gave a quick glanced behind him before looking back at Michael. “I, uh, didn’t tell anyone. If you were worried about that.”

Michael blinked. “Thanks. Though I was more worried about how you’re doing.”

Geoff palmed the back of his head. “I know that I reacted…badly last night. But after calming down, I realized how ridicules I was being. Because even though you may be a mythical being, you’re still you. So, you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you Geoff. But thanks for being cool about this whole thing. Trust me when I say that your reaction was pretty calm compared to others.”

The two stood there in silence before Geoff reached forward and pulled him into a hug. “No matter what.” Geoff whispered in his ear. “You’ll always be my little Michael.”

Michael gripped the front of Geoff’s shirt, burying his nose in Geoff’s neck and inhaled. _Mate_. “Thanks Geoff.” The two stayed like that for a while, comfortable in each other’s warmth. They only pulled apart when they heard a loud commotion behind them.

Geoff sighed. “We should probably get back inside before those idiots do something stupid.”

Michael snickered. “Sounds too late for that.”

Geoff’s hand paused on the door handle. “Are…are you going to tell them?”

Michael sighed. “I always planned on telling you guys. I-I just couldn’t find the right way to do it.” _I don’t want you guys to run off and hate me._

Geoff nodded. “There’s no rush. I’m certainly not going to push it. But I don’t think they’ll react badly. They might be stunned or confused, but beyond that?” Geoff shrugged. “We’ve worked with you for a while now. Just keep that in mind.”

Michael nodded. Maybe the time to tell them the truth was here.

And then they could move forward to being mates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms welcomed.


	7. Instinct to Reveal 1-Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has a dilemma. Ray tries to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter makes up for what a piece of shit I've been recently. Also, I'm going to disappoint anyone who had been expecting really cool tattoos for Michael. Again, I'm a piece of shit.

It took a few days for Geoff to get use to the idea of Michael being a dragon, no matter what the Gent said. He didn’t say anything really, Michael just noticed the way he would hesitate when speaking to the Lad or the brief flash of fear when Gavin wrestled with the dragon. Michael couldn’t really blame him, Geoff didn’t find out quite the way Michael would have liked. Still, it pained Michael that Geoff was acting so careful around him.

So it was a great relief when, a couple days after Geoff found out, the Gent surprised Michael by clapping his hand on Michael’s shoulder and pulled him in for a brief one-arm hug.

“What are you looking at?” Geoff joked at the surprised look on Michael’s face. “I know I’m good looking but that doesn’t mean you have to stare.”

Michael blinked once before grinning, shoving Geoff off. “As if. Who wants to look at an old man like you?”

Geoff chuckled before moving on and Michael knew they were good.

But now Geoff knowing brought up another problem; is it now time to tell the others? Michael wanted to, god did he want to. Wanted the secret out in the open so he could stop hiding who he was. But he was scared that they would react worse than Geoff did. That they would leave or want him to. Or worse, tell the world and try to profit off him.  Michael couldn’t handle that. So he didn’t. Except the guilt was eating at him. If one of his mates knew, shouldn’t they all?

Although Michael tried hard to hide how affected by this dilemma he was, he must not be doing it as well as he thought he was, because Ray pulled him aside as he and everyone else were leaving for lunch.

“Hey dude, what’s up?”

Michael frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Man, everyone has seen how stress you’ve ben. You haven’t been as into the Let’s Plays and even I noticed that your recent Rage Quits haven’t quite got your hear in it.”

Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m just…trying to decide something big and I guess it’s been stressing me out.”

Ray hummed but didn’t’ push. Instead he grinned. “How about you come to my place? We could play some games, you could get drunk, I could get a sugar high, we’ll pass out in the morning and then get something to eat.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “You’re actually inviting me to your place? And allowing me to get drunk there? Are _you_ drunk?”

Ray laughed. “Nah man. Just thought it’d be some nice relaxation. Get your mind off whatever stressing about. What do you say?”

Michael didn’t even have to think twice. “Hell yeah.”

Ray gave small grin, glad that he was successful in getting Michael to agree. “OK, but because I’m such an awesome friend, you’re going to buy me lunch.”

“Ray!.” Michael whined.

“What? It’s only fair, man. I mean I am doing you a huge favor.”

Michael laughed pushing the lad out the door. The rest of the crew saw that their resident hot head was in a better mood than he’d ben in days as he and Ray threw jokes and sarcastic comments back and forth. At the end of the day, the two lads piled into Michael’s car and drove to Ray’s apartment, making a quick stop at a gas station for some bevs for Michael and soda for Ray.

Just like Ray promised, the night was filled with drinks, pizza, and games. Michael was immensely glad to not have to worry for once and just play around. Eventually, though, as the night wore on, the issue was brought up. Surprisingly by Ray.

“So what problem are you stressing over?” Ray asked and even though his eyes never left the screen he could feel Michael tense next to him. “Come on man. You know you can tell me. Fuck, you could tell any of us, even Gavin. You can trust us.”

“Trust me, I’m not afraid of you laughing at me.” Michael muttered. “Quite the opposite in fact.”

Ray had to pause the game at that. “Ok, what does _that_ mean?

“Exactly what I said Ray.” Michael was fiddling with his jacket sleeve, advoiding looking at Ray at all cost. He couldn’t eve believe he was considering telling Ray.

Ray raised an eyebrow. “You’re afraid we’ll, what? Run away, screaming and crying?” Ray said the last part laughing, obviously joking. But when Michael bit his lip and shrugged, Ray’s laughter died. “Wait, you seriously think that? Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“And what if it is, Ray?” Michael growled, anxiety making him defensive. “What if my problem-my, my _secret_ makes you run? Makes everyone hate me? How could I deal with that?”

Ray frowned. Thinking for a minute, he scooted closer and placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Michael, man, I’ve known you for like a fuck long time. You’re one of my best friend’s. I _know_ you and trust me when I say, there is absolutely nothing you could do that would make me run away.”  

Michael was surprised by the intensity in Ray’s eyes. So surprised that he blurted out “I’m a dragon” before he could think things through.

There was a tense moment of silence before Ray started laughing. “I’m a dragon.” He mocked as Michael blushed. “Dude, what a weird thing to say.” Settling down, Ray leaned back into the couch. “But seriously, what’s your secret.”

Michael took a deep breath. He could drop it here, let Ray play it off as a joke and tell him something else. But…the large part of him didn’t want to. Now was the perfect time to tell Ray, and really he’d never know how Ray will react if he doesn’t come clean.

So letting his breath out in a long sigh, Michael stood up. “Just-just stay there. And try not to freak out too much.” Ray only gave a bemused nod before Michael turned around. He quickly threw off his jacket but hesitated at his shirt. _Shit, man, I’m really doing this_ , Michael thought, somewhat hysterical. Before he could fully freak out, he ripped off his shirt and held his breath.

None of them had ever really seen him without a shirt before, not even when he swam. Except for a few comments about him being body shy, none of them really questioned why. Michael wasn’t shy or some shit like that. Just paranoid. Hunters from the Old Days could tell who was a dragon by the markings on their human skin and though they had died out as dragons started becoming fairy tales, the need to hide them had not left Michael.

Large, black, skeletal looking wings covered up most of his back. Right above his jeans began the start of another tattoo, his tail that went down and wrapped around his left leg. There had been a few times where the tip would peek out and the guys’ got curious, but once he got them distracted no one really asked.

“Holy cow.” Michael heard Ray breathe out, eyes tracing his wings. “That’s a pretty cool tat, but I don’t think scream worthy.”

Michael let out a nervous chuckle. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” And with that, he let go.

It wasn’t so much as pushing his wings out as he just stopped holding them in. It’d had been uncomfortable when his parents had first taught him. His wings were meant to be free, not hidden. Now, Michel barely noticed the uncomfortable pressure anymore, but he couldn’t deny that the felt a lot better now that they were out.

The room was completely silent except for the faint sound of his wings and tail twitching. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and turned his head to look at Ray. The Puerto Rican was staring wide eyed at Michael, not even breathing.

“Ray. Ray, you’re human. You have to breathe.” Michael joked, hoping to break the terrible tension building in the room.

Ray seemed to finally realize that, yes, he did need to breath. After gasping a bit, he sputtered. “S-Shit, man. What the fuck?”

“So, you know how I worried if you would run away, screaming? Yeah, this is what I was talking about.” Michael reached back to finger one of his wings. “I told you, I’m a dragon.”

“Dude, you’re a _dragon_!” Ray shouted.

“Yeah. Yeah I am.” The conformation seemed to send them back into silence. Michael couldn’t stop fidgeting while Ray stared at him. “I-I shouldn’t have shown you. I’m sorry. Now I ruined everything.”

“Michael.” Ray frowned.

“I-I can leave, if you want. Fuck what am I talking about? Of course that’s what you want. I’m leaving.”

“Michael.”

“Please. Please don’t tell the others. We can still work together, right? No one has to go.” Michael started pacing, gripping his hair.

“Mich-“

“Fuck. _Fuck._ I ruined everything. I thought I could show you and then we could move forward and I would get my mates and everything. I wanted too much and now you hate me and would never date me and-“

And Michael was cut off as two hands gripped his head and turned his face, soft lips meeting his. Michael was a bit shocked before he registered that, yes, Ray was kissing him. A bit desperately, he gripped Ray’s shoulders and deepened the kiss, pulling Ray in. Ray gave a shocked moan, wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist, feeling Michael lick his lips and opened them to let the dragon in.

Minutes passed before the two had to break apart, their pants filling the room. Michael stared at Ray, one hand reaching up to cup his face. “Hell Ray.”

“Yeah?” Ray blushed at how husky his voice sounded. Clearing his throat, he timidly asked. “So…is that a good hell?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Michael rushed to reassure Ray. “Just a bit surprised. Wasn’t expecting it, really.”

“Well, you were freaking out and I just wanted to stop you before you actually left. Plus, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” Ray said, grinning.

“Yeah?” Michael couldn’t help grinning back.

Ray smirked before his eyes darted behind Michael. “So, does this mean my boyfriend’s a dragon?”

Michael briefly glanced at his wings, almost forgetting that they were out, but his attention was grabbed by something more important. “Boyfriend? You really want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Well, if you want to?” Ray shrugged, trying to look like he wouldn’t be broken if Michael said no.

“Hell yeah I want to. I’m just surprised that _you_ want me to. I mean, not everyone wants a boyfriend who’s part lizard.” Michael said.

“I told you, Michael. I would never run away, no matter what.” Ray said. “Though I expect you to explain everything to me about being a dragon. Immediately.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Immediately? So you don’t want to continue kicking my ass at Call of Duty?”

Ray glanced at their paused game. “Well, I could kick your ass any day. But now, I want you to tell me more.” He grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him towards the couch. Ray went to sit next to Michael, but the older lad immediately pulled him into his lap.

“Well,” Michael purred, dragon content as he buried his nose in Ray’s hair. Both his wings and his tail gently wrapped around Ray, holding him in place. “What do you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms are always welcomed.


	8. Instinct to Freak Out-Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Michael and Ray's first date. Michael becomes a shy awkward hatchling.

“Michael, stop freaking out.” Lindsay huffed over the phone and Michael could tell she was grinning.

The lad scowled. “I am not freaking out.”

“Really?” She was full on giggling now. “Then why is it that you called me in a panic asking what you should wear? Since when do you care what you wear?”

“Well excuse me for wanting things to be perfect.” Michael snapped.

Lindsay’s laughter died off but he could hear the amusement in her voice. “Michael. This is _Ray_ we’re talking about. You two have known each other forever. He won’t care what you’re wearing or what you have planned.”

Michael bit his lip and fell onto his bed. “I know that but I can’t help worrying. What if I mess everything up?”

Lindsay was quiet for a minute and Michael feared that she had hung up. But she soon spoke up. “You like him, yeah?”

_I love him._ “I really, really like him.”

“Then you won’t mess it up.” Lindsay spoke with such confidence that Michael felt it to. Ray was one of his mates, of course Michael will do anything he could to make sure that the lad was happy. “Though there is one thing I want you to promise me you’ll talk about.”

Michael hesitated at the sudden seriousness in her voice. “What?”

“I want you to promise me that you’ll tell him that he’s not the only one you want.”

Michael stopped breathing. “How’d you know?”

Lindsay snorted. “I see the way you look at all of them. How you touch them. The way you speak. You’re head over asshole for them, Michael, and Ray needs to know that.”

“Wh-What if he doesn’t take it well?” Michael whispered.

“I think…if you want to know you have to talk to him.” Lindsay gave a soft laugh at Michael’s groan. “But, I think you might be surprised at his answer.”

~

Michael shifted nervously in his seat. Again.

“Michael, if you don’t stop I might have to kill you.” Ray said, not looking up from his menu.

Michael gave a quick, startled laugh. “Sorry. It’s just…what do you think?”

Ray sat down the menu and looked around. “Well, to be honest, I never thought I’d go to Red Lobster. Especially for a date.”

Michael’s eyes widen. “Did-did you want to go someone else? We could leave, if you want.” Michael whipped his head around, looking for their waiter. “Shit, I wasn’t thinking. Sorry. I’m sorry-“

Ray reached across the table to gripe Michael’s hand, stopping his frantic motions. “Hey man, calm down. I was just trying to make a joke, you know, about me being poor.”

Michael’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Oh. Yeah. I should’ve know. Sorry for freaking out.” He ran a hand through his curls, giving Ray a shy look. “I just want this to go perfect, you know. You sure everything is ok?”

“Michael,” Ray said sternly, not letting the dragon loose eye contact. “This is me we’re talking about. I don’t care if we’re eating at the fanciest place in the world or a rundown hot dog stand. As long as it’s us, I think it’s perfect.”

“Really?”

“Really really.” The two shared a grin before Ray picked back up his menu. “Now if we’re done with this emotional bullshit, let’s eat.”

Michael laughed, agreeing.

The rest of the date seemed to go by in a blur, or at least that’s the way it seemed to Michael. And Ray (and Lindsay, but Michael wasn’t going to tell her) was right. The date seemed perfect, even when Michael got so excited he threw his hands up and knocked a passing waiter’s tray over or when Ray laughed so hard he snorted soda out of his nose. It seemed all too soon that Michael was walking Ray to his apartment.

The two stood outside Ray’s door. “I had fun.” Michael commented.

Ray’s lips twitched. “I did too. Want to do it again sometime soon?”

“Hell yeah.” Michael hesitated for a second before he went in and gave Ray a quick kiss. “See you tomorrow?”

Ray’s cheeks were burning and he nodded franticly. “Yeah. Yeah.” Shaking his head a bit, he grabbed Michael’s arm before he could leave. “There…was something I wanted to talk about though.”

“Ok?” Michael gave Ray a worried look.

Ray gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing big. I…just wanted to ask if we could keep this a secret?” The lad looked down, rushing on with his words, afraid of how Michael would react. “It’s just that. It’s just that this is so new. I want things to solidify first, you know.”

Michael put a warm hand on Ray’s shoulders, stopping him before the younger man could throw himself into a panic. “Ray, that’s fine. There’s no need to jump into telling everyone. We’ll act normal at work and leave out all the gushy feelings, alright?”

Ray looked up and gave Michael a relieved smile. “Thanks.” The shorter man leaned up to give Michael a kiss this time. “You’re the best.”

“I know right.” Michael smirked. “I’m the prettiest and smartest dragon in the world.”

Ray snorted. “Yeah ok. See you tomorrow, Michael.”

“Bye Ray.”

It wasn’t till later, when Michael was snuggled in bed, a smile playing around on his lips, did he remember Lindsay’s promise.

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms welcomed.


	9. Instinct to Mate 1: Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael chooses the worst times to talk about dragon stuff.

There were hands running up and down his sides and a mouth attached to his. Michael backed Ray up till the younger man’s legs hit the edge of the bed. Michael pulled back, gave Ray a smirk, and pushed him backwards.

Ray gave an _umph_ as he fell onto the soft covers. “You’re an asshole.” He grumbled, but his breath caught as Michael slowly crawled over him.

“Mmmm, I know I am.” Michael leaned down, stopping an inch away from Ray’s neck, just sitting for a minute letting his breath hit the sensitive skin there. “But I’m the asshole that’s about to rock your world.”

The room was silent before Ray burst out into laughter. “Dude, what the fuck?”

Michael leaned back smiling. “You like that, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Stop, you’re killing my boner.” Ray said between snorts.

“Mmm, big boy, I’ll make you feel sooo good.”

“No, no, stop. Please.” Ray’s chest was heaving by now.

Michael chuckled, dropping back down to kiss Ray again. He could feel Ray still laughing against his lips. Before long, they had to separate to catch their breath. Ray trailed his fingers down Michael’s chest, stopping to fiddle with the button on Michael’s jeans. “I think these need to come off now.”

Michael shivered at the touch, hastily nodding his head in agreement. He reached down to pop the button, playfully slapping his hands away and pulled down his zipper. Michael reached in and palmed himself as his eyes roamed the spread out lad in front of him.  “Ray we need to talk first.” Michael’s voice was rough and low.

Ray groaned, letting his head fall back. “Do we have to? If you’re worried about me really wanting this, I can tell you I one hundred percent do.”

Michael chuckled although it was a bit strained as he forced his hand to stop stroking himself. “While that’s great to hear, not what I wanted to talk about.” Michael took a deep breath. “So, sometimes when I’m…really enjoying something, my dragon kind of comes through. And because he thinks you’re my mate he’ll want to, uh, claim you.”

Ray raised his eyebrow and shrugged. “Hey, dude, if you want to be the one who’s dick goes into something, I have no objections.”

“Not what I, uh, really meant, though I’ll happily stick my dick in you at any time. But us dragons like to, uh, leave our…marks on what we consider ours.”

“You want to give me a hickey?”

“Kind of? It’s like a hickey but it’s more…permeant.”

“A permeant hickey? Sounds kinky.” Ray said, smiling. At Michael’s frown his smile fell. Sitting up, he bit his lip. “You don’t need to be so serious, dude. I’m fine with a mark.”

“Ray, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks. We haven’t even told the others. Are you really ok with walking around with my mark?”

“I know it might seem too soon. But I’ve lo-liked you for a long time now.” Ray confessed. Michael let the slip up go. He already knew he loved Ray but he won’t push the human to confess. Ray will do it when he’s comfortable. “Plus, from what I’ve gathered, being a mate to a dragon is a big deal, right?” Ray raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah, but-“

“Then we’ll get through any obstacles that come our way. I’m willing to. Are you?”

Michael stared at Ray, who didn’t back down. Finally, he sighed. “Hell yeah. I’ll do anything to be with you forever.”

Ray smiled and leaned forward to capture Michael’s lips. “I’m your mate forever.” He whispered. Pulling back, the younger man smirked before pushing Michael backwards. Straddling the dragon’s hips, he leaned down to lick along Michael’s neck. “Now I have an ache that only you can satisfy.”

Michael’s laughter tapered out into a moan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms


	10. Interlude with Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray's true feelings come out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this a quick chapter to kind of set up for the next one and to explore someone else's pov.  
> Also, if anyone has any questions on Ray's mark, let me know. I plan to explain more in the next chapter but it would help if I knew what everyone is confused about.   
> Also also, I was thinking of changing this story's rating to Teen and making a side companion for smut. Would that be something that people would like or nah?

Ray stared at himself in the mirror, a hand coming up to touch at his neck, hissing as he pressed against the mark there. “Dammit Michael.” How on Earth was he going to hide this?

He couldn’t pass it off as a bruise from an unknown lover. The mark looked like a small dragon, curled around itself and eating its own tail.  It was small, placed near his ear, and just a shade lighter than his skin tone but there was no way one of the others wouldn’t notice. Questions were going to be asked and Ray did not have the answers.

He wished he could just man up and tell the others that Michael and he were dating. He wasn’t ashamed, neither was Michael, and he knew that besides for a few teasing comments the others wouldn’t care. And no matter what he told Michael, it wasn’t a want of waiting to see if the relationship was going to last that had him hesitating in making it public.

Ray felt the familiar feeling of guilt and shame rising up in his gut.  He loved Michael, had ever since the two started chatting online. Back when he was young and first started hearing of a group called Rooster Teeth, he had never thought in a million years he would ever meet his crush let alone actually work with him.

Finding out Michael was a dragon had been a surprise, just not necessarily a bad one. And once Ray knew he kind of wanted to slap himself for not figuring it out sooner. Looking back, there was so much evidence that _something_ was going on with Michael. Like the times when it seemed Michael was in two places at once, moving from one point in the building to another. Michael had explained, after the reveal, that he used his wings when he needed to get to places quickly or was running late. There was also his super strength, which Ray shamelessly exploits now that he can. And the memorable time when Michael had picked up a burning plate, everyone looking on in shock, not even beginning to panic until someone told him that the plate had been left on the stove.

 But now they were dating and Ray didn’t really care about all the supernatural stuff (he had always been a roll with it kind of person and man was that coming in handy now that he was dating a fucking dragon)and he was happy. Or he was supposed to be.

The problem was, Michael wasn’t the only one he has feelings for.

There was Jack, the calm and sensible one who made sure shit actually got done. He was always there for Ray when the Lad needed advice or a hug. He made Ray feel safe.

Ryan who was more kid than adult, who helped Ray hatch awesome pranks to pull and never got angry when the blame was pinned on him. The smart one to go to with computer problems, who flubbed his big words. The Gent always made sure that comments about his permeant sobriety didn’t get to the Lad and it was always nice to have another person to talk to as their friends got roaring drunk.

Gavin, the idiot that made him laugh almost every day, who knew the right things to say even if it was spoken in British. The Lad who was made himself out to be an idiot just for everyone’s amusement, who was smarter than he let on, who made sure that there were game nights without too many people around so Ray could go.

And Geoff, his fucking boss. Who loved to get drunk but made sure that he wasn’t too wasted for Ray’s taste. The Gent who put his heart into their little group, the one who convinced Ray to leave New York for Texas. Who looked out for all of them, made sure they were happy and safe.

Ray loved all of them, wanted to be with all of them and it frightened him. Because that wasn’t right. Right? You don’t love five of your coworkers, it’s just not done.

So he’ll be fine with just Michael (and god he sounded like such a prick. Just Michael? _Just Michael?)_ and he’ll push down whatever other feelings he has and hope they’ll just go away.

Man he hoped they go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms are welcomed


	11. Instinct to Reveal 2-Michael, Ray, and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Michael get sloppy. Ryan finds out. Will everything be ok?

For once, the Achievement Hunter office was silent, everyone either working on some video or out doing something else. Which meant Michael was fee to purr to his heart’s content without worrying if someone would hear him. And the curly head lad had much to be happy about.

They had finally, _finally_ , filmed enough videos to the point that they could afford to relax for the next couple of days. And their brief stint of true winter weather had passed, the sun starting to come out and the temperature going up. Which was great news for the dragon, although he had fire in his veins he believed he truly could never get hot enough and enjoyed lounging around in the sun light, warming himself.

But the best thing that had happened was sitting next to him, editing the new Rainbow Six game they played. Michael couldn’t stop glancing over at Ray and not just because he was handsome.

Ray was wearing his Mark of Claim.

Michael himself wasn’t sure exactly how the marks came to be. His parents had told him the legend when he was young and could not fly yet. About how when dragons had been free to roam the day in their natural forms, there had been many fights between each other. Dragons were very possessive creatures and it wasn’t rare for one to kill another over something as small as a stolen coin. It became so bad that Alma Mater, said to be the Mother of Dragons, finally intervened. She gathered all the dragons together and proclaimed that each one should have a Mark of Claim, something they could brand onto their property. Every dragon must respect the Mark or they themselves will fall into servitude to the dragon they stole from, which was considered the worst punishment for such prideful creatures. Then she encased them all in her fire. When the flames died, each of them had their own Mark.

The legend ends with a few dragons marking entire spots of lands, only to regret it later when humans began hunting them and other dragons refused to help as to step onto their Marked territory would be considered stealing. Michael had never been sure if the story was true or just something to warn hatchlings against being greedy.

Michael did know that Ray was fussing over it for no reason. No one but Joel would be able to see it-at least not yet. Because the Mark had been created by magic, only those with magic in them could see it.  Until he put his magic _in_ the others (and really, Michael couldn’t help snickering at the double meaning there) the four other men they share an office with wouldn’t be able to make fun of him. Though Michael didn’t see why he needs to tell Ray that any time soon.

He still felt bad though about Marking Ray. Not that would ever regret putting his Mark on the human, it pleased his dragon that his mate was officially _his_ and no other could touch Ray without risking Michael’s wrath.  He just felt that he had done it too early or at a time where Ray couldn’t think through the decision clearly enough. Michael knew he would never leave Ray, but he wasn’t sure the same could be said about the other. Ray is human and they were quite known for being fickle and emotional creatures. Ray may love him now but what about in a couple of years? By then Ray could grow to hate Michael or deicide that Rooster Teeth wasn’t the place for him. The future was unknown when mated to a human.

Shaking off the negative thoughts, Michael cast a look around the room. Shockingly, it seemed that everyone but Ray and him had left. Pausing his own video, Michael leaned over to tap Ray on the shoulder, getting the other lad’s attention. 

Ray didn’t pause in his editing, instead moving his head phones to where one ear was free. “Yeah?”

“Where’d Ryan and Gavin go?” Michael asked gesturing the empty room.

Ray shrugged. “I think Gavin left to talk to Burnie and Ryan’s probably at lunch.” He replied not bothering to look up from his screen.

“Huh. Didn’t even notice.” Michael commented. He took a few minutes to just stare at Ray and the Mark he created. 

“What?” Ray asked, annoyed at being disturbed. One hand automatically came up to cover his neck. “What are you staring at?”

“Just my handsome boyfriend.” Michael answered cheekily.

Ray rolled his eyes, a small smile playing across his lips. “Quit being you and do your work.”

“And what if I don’t?” Michael asked, taking off his own head phones and rolling closer towards the other.

“Well you better or Geoff will have your-hey!” Ray cried indigently when Michael reached across to pause Ray’s video.

“What if instead I want to kiss you?”

“Well,” Ray said crossing his arms, trying and failing to hide his smile. “It better be a pretty good kiss or I’m going to be angry.” He was already leaning closer.

“We wouldn’t want that would we?” Michael whispered, gently grabbing Ray’s face to press a kiss onto his soft lips.

Ray laughed softly before he started kissing back. It only lasted a few minutes, then both pulled away. Ray gave Michael his dopiest grin when it suddenly faded and he was jumping up, eyes on the doorway. “Ryan.”

Michael spun around in his chair and sure enough, Ryan was standing nearby, a sandwich loosely held in one hand while the other was death gripping a Diet Coke. The gent was just staring at them.

Michael slowly stood up as Ray started sputtering. “We-uh-I mean it wasn’t-or maybe it was-we were just playing, uh, Too Hot. Yeah and neither of us lost. We’re just too awesome for that. I mean, I wouldn’t really kiss Michael. That’s just gross-“

“Ray.” Michael said, shutting the other lad up. It was obvious Ryan didn’t believe him anyway.

 While Ray might be fidgeting and blushing, Michael was perfectly calm. He would never purposely reveal their relationship, but he couldn’t say he was angry that they had been found out. Michael was also secretly hoping that this would get the ball rolling, show Ryan that whatever he might be hung up, wither it was being afraid that he’ll be made fun of for wanting to date men or just the fear of dating a co-worker, he wouldn’t have to worry about it.

Michael just wished Ryan would actually say something. All he’s done so far is stand there and stare at them.

“So Ray and I are dating.” Michael stated, looking over to Ray to make sure he wasn’t too upset with Michael for saying it out loud. Ray looked away and scratched at his arm but Michael caught the small smile. Good, not mad.

Looking back at Ryan, he frowned. The gent still hadn’t moved but at least he was blinking now. “Is that-is that ok?” He asked. The fact Ryan might not be ok with it had never crossed his mind before.

Ryan opened his mouth to answer but seemed to think better of it, instead looking away. Taking several deep breaths, he tried again. “Yeah, yeah. Fine. Totally…fine.”  There was something odd about his voice and Michael shared a concerned look with Ray.

“If you’re sure?”

Ryan coughed, still not looking at them. “No, no. Totally sure. Its fine, its fine. I’m, uh, going to give you guys some privacy and go eat my lunch somewhere else.”

“You don’t have to-“Ray stated but Ryan had already fled. “Well. That could have gone better.”

“What the fuck is his problem?” Michael asked, eyebrows furrowing. This wasn’t at all what he was expecting. He actually…felt sort of hurt.

“I’m sure he’s just shocked.” Ray tried to reassure him. “I mean we haven’t really let on we were dating before.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Michael mumbled, looking back at the door in which Ryan left. “Just shocked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms Welcomed


	12. Instinct to Mate 2: Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from the last Instinct to Mate, Michael and Ray sexy times.

Michael’s laughter tapered out into a moan as Ray started nibbling at his neck. His hands grabbed at Ray’s waist, fingers digging in.

“First-first we need to be undressed, don’t you think?” Michael panted out.

Ray leaned back to smirk down at him. “Probably. That’s usually how sex works.”

Michael rolled his eyes but helped the other boy out of his shirt, grinning when it got tangled up his arm.

“Stupid, fucking-ah.” Ray broke off his cursing when Michael started sucking and licking at his nipples. Ray arched his back, hands fisting in Michael’s hair. “M-Michael.”

Michael gave one last nip before looking up at Ray. “Yeah?” He gave Ray’s ass a squeeze.

Ray’s face was flushed and he glared down at the other. “Quit being a bastard.”

“But Ray, I haven’t even begun.’ Michael leaned in to peck the lad’s chin. “Now get up so I can get undressed.”

Ray rolled off, already unbuttoning his pants. Michael took a few seconds to appreciate the view before getting to work on his own. His shirt was over his face when he heard Ray laugh.

“Fucking Zelda boxers? Seriously Michael?”

“Hey, it’s laundry day. They were the only clean pair I had.” Michael defended, throwing his shirt on the floor. “Plus, they’re cool. And comfortable.”

“You’re ridicules.” Ray said, but Michael saw the other’s eyes roaming over his body.

“Says the man with a Snorlax night light.” Michael grinned at Ray’s surprised face. “Yeah, I saw.”

“It’s a collector’s edition.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Ray stuck his tongue out at him and Michael grinned. Then he removed his boxers.

“Um, Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“Weird question. But is there a reason you’re dick is so…red?”

Michael looked down and grimaced. He’d forgotten about this part. “Dragon, remember. My parts are a bit…different.”

Ra raised an eyebrow. “Different being red?”

“And having a few bumps right along here.” Michael shivered as he lightly traced the small ridges. “And I, uh, maybe. Knot.” Michael mumbled that last part.

“You what?”

“You know. Knot.” At the look Ray was giving him, Michael blushed. “Look, it’s for breeding reasons. Keeps the sperm in longer for a better chance for the female to get pregnant. It’s perfectly normal.”

“I’m not saying it’s _not_ normal. For dragons. But it is _not_ normal for humans.” Ray couldn’t stop staring at it. “I don’t think my body is built for that.”

“We don’t have to knot. If you don’t want to.” Michael was fidgeting.

“Are you sure? I want this to be good for you too.”

“I don’t have to knot to get off.” Michael reassured him. “I’m not going to lie, my dragon will want to and you may have to remind me during that you don’t want it. But I’m not going to knot you if you don’t want to.”

Ray bit his lip, seeming to think about it. “I…don’t want to now.” He started slowly. “But I am curious. Maybe in the future. We have to take it slow though.” Ray pointed at Michael in warning.

“We can take it as slow as you want.” Michael promised, walking closer to the bed. “Or not at all. I’m not going to force you.”

“I know you won’t.” Ray laid back down as Michael crawled over him. Grinning up at him, the younger man tangled his hands in Michael’s curly hair, pulling him down into a kiss. “And now we’ve officially talked long enough for me to lose my boner.”

Michael chuckled. “I suppose I should fix that.” One hand was holding him up, the other now running down Ray’s chest. It stopped briefly to trace patterns into Rau’s stomach before teasing along the waist of his boxers.

Ray’s breathing was starting to get heavier and his eyes darkened. “Yeah you should.” Ray didn’t tease. He went straight for Michael’s cock, exploring the differences for himself.

Michael couldn’t hold back a moan. “Damn Ray.”

The lad smirked. “Yeah?”

Michael narrowed his eyes before returning the smirk. “Yeah.” He surprised Ray by gripping his boxers and ripping them down.

Ray squealed in surprise, blushing at his sudden nakedness and the way Michael was staring at him. Michael was admiring the spread out form in front of him, especially Ray’s neglected cock. Making sure he held eye contact, Michael slowly leaned down to give a small lick to the head. Ray groaned, throwing his head back and bucking up his hips. “Please, Michael. No more teasing.”

Michael hummed, popping the head just inside his mouth. With each moan Ray let out, Michael slowly sank down, till he was nosing at the base. Just as slow, he pulled off, leaning over to his nightstand to grab a packet of lube. Setting it down on the bed, Michael started adjusting Ray, grabbing a pillow to put beneath his hips and lifting his legs to sit comfortable on his shoulders. Opening the packet, he gently mouthed at Ray’s cock as he generously lubed his fingers and Ray set his hands in Michael’s hair.  

“Tell me if I hurt you.” Michael said, the only warning Ray got before a cold finger pressed at his entrance. The dragon felt Ray take a deep breath as he slide one in. “You ok?”

“Y-Yeah.” Ray said shakily. “It’s just been a while since I did this.”

“Ok, I’ll go slow then.”  Michael made sure that Ray was distracted by his tongue on Ray’s dick while moving his finger about.

“Has anyone ever told you how good you taste?” Michael asked, getting a slap on the head.

“Michael!”

“What?” Michael grinned, stabbing his fingers in and getting Ray to squeak. “It’s just a question.” After a few minutes of Ray clenching and unclenching around him, he finally felt the boy relax enough to begin teasing a second finger in.

“Michael, Michael.” Ray begged, canting his hips up.

“That’s right, baby.” Michael soothed, his two fingers slowly working Ray open. “Say my name.” He watched, fascinated, at Ray’s pink rim and how good it looked taking his fingers. He bet it would look even better around his dick. Michael took Ray to the hilt again as a third finger entered. Soon enough, Ray was tugging at Michael’s hair, bucking up and fucking back into Michael’s fingers.

“Please, Michael. I need it.” Michael looked up to catch Ray’s eyes. They were barely open, full of desire and begging for Michael. “I need you.”

Michael felt a growl ripping out of his throat. He’s waited so long, _so long_ , for one of his mates to say that to him. He could feel his cock leaking, begging to be buried in Ray, could feel his teeth growing with desire to sink into Ray’s soft flesh. Withdrawing his fingers, he sat up and pulled Ray closer, practically bending the human in half.

Michael pushed in, stopping as the head popped inside. “God, Ray.” He couldn’t help himself and pushed till he was seated fully inside.

“W-Wait, Michael. Wait.” Ray panted out, hands gripping the sheets till they turned white. “Just, please, wait a minute.”

Michael instantly stilled. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…need a second.” Ray assured him. Moaning, he rolled his head along the pillows. “God, I’m so full.”

Michael laughed. “Way to boost a guy’s ego.”

“Like you need it any bigger.”

“That’s what she said.”

Ray rolled his eyes. Biting his lip, he gently moved his hips. “Ok. You can move now.”

Michael immediately did. He tried to keep it slow at first, but the combination of heat and tightness had him going faster and faster. He could feel his dragon coming out.

Ray noticed it too.

“Michael.” He gasped. “You’re eyes. They’re red.”

“Yeah.” Michael said. He changed his angle slightly, trying to hit Ray’s sweet spot and smirked when Ray’s whole body jerked. “They do that.” Actually, with every shove into Ray’s body he could more and more of his dragon coming out. Small, red scales were starting to crop up and he could feel the base of his spine tingle from his tail wanting to pop out.

“Shit, your dick man.” Ray was gasping now at the faster pace, pushing his hips down so they would meet Michael’s. “I-I can feel everything. All the-the bumps and…oh fuck.”

By this point all Michael could do was grunt, snapping his hips harder. There was a swelling at the base of his dick, his knot, which was starting to bump up against Ray’s rim and informed him of how close he was.

“Ray, Ray. Is…is it ok if I mark you?” Michael got out, mouth hanging open with how good it felt to pound into the body beneath him. “Please. I need…I need to.”

“Yeah. Michael, go for it.” Ray slid a hand in between their bodies to start jerking himself off. “I want you to. I need you to.”

Pleased at the answer, Michael started nipping at Ray’s neck. With every thrust, his bites got harder and harder till he was digging into the skin and he could smell the blood that laid underneath. That part of him that was purely dragon, that held his magic, was sluggishly waking up, getting ready for his Mark. With a few more thrusts, and making sure that his knot did no more than tease Ray’s rim, Michael was cumming and biting down on Ray’s neck.

Michael was burning, bursting with stars from his climax, the feeling of Ray cursing and tightening around him as he too came, and from his magic being released onto Ray’s skin. Michael didn’t let up, not when he stopped spurting or when Ray went limp beneath him. He wouldn’t, couldn’t let up till he had laid his claim.

“Mi-Michael, you’re starting to hurt me.” Ray whimpered, weakly pushing at him.

Blinking, Michael finally let up, pulling away. Grimacing at how sore his jaw felt, he mumbled a quick “Sorry” before rolling off Ray. The two laid side by side, catching their breath.

“Damn.” Ray muttered.

Michael looked over to grin at him. “That a good damn?”

“That’s a it-was-fucking-amazing damn. Holy shit, man. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to regular dicks after that whole experience.”

Michael chuckled. “I least I know you’ll always love me for my dick.”

Ray laughed too, pushing lightly at Michael. “I feel gross, man. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Want me to join?” Michael winked at him.

“I don’t think I can handle another round right now. Besides, showers are for cleaning and not for dicking.”

“Oh, give me time, Ray. I’ll change your mind.” Michael purred.

Ray smiled and leaned down to give Michael a light kiss. “Looking forward to it.”

Michael watched Ray make his way to the bathroom, stopping on the way to grab a towel, and shook his head. He was in love with an idiot.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms Welcomed. Also you should talk to me about Dragon!Michael-or anything else really-at my tumblr: GanglyLimbs-http://ganglylimbs.tumblr.com/


	13. Instinct to Make Things Worse-Michael, Ray, and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have to get worse before they can get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is ok.

“Did something happen between Ryan and Ray and you?”

Michael chocked on his sandwich. Gavin and he had gone to a Boi Only lunch, something they made sure to do every once in a while. But Gavin had been oddly quite throughout this one. Now Michael knew why.

“W-Why do you ask?”

Gavin shrugged, not looking at Michael. Instead, he stabbed at his own meal. “Ryan’s been acting…weird, I guess? I’ve just noticed every time I talk about you guys he tenses up or leaves. I was wondering if, you know, something happened.”  

Michael swallowed. “No.” He lied.

“Oh…” Gavin’s voice was small, like he knew Michael wasn’t telling the truth. Which he probably did. Michael didn’t make it a habit to lie to Gavin and vice versa.

And Michael didn’t want to lie. But he also didn’t want this to blow up more. Because he could fix this. He could. He hoped. 

It would probably help if he knew exactly what it was he had to fix. And that’s what turned his stomach whenever he thought of the blond haired gent. Ryan freaking out over Ray and him kissing was something Michael had not expected. Out of everyone, Michael had thought Ryan was the closest to figuring out his feelings. In fact, if Ray hadn’t made a move, Michael had planned on asking Ryan out first.

And that’s probably what hurt Michael the most. The six of them were a pretty close, tight-nit group (and thanks to Michael’s dragon half, he felt a sort of special bond that was unique with each of them). Having Ryan avoid him or refuse to talk to him _hurt_.

That’s why Michael had to believe he could fix this.

~

It was the perfect time. Or as perfect as it was going to get. Jack had taken the day off due to a dentist appointment. Gavin was in England, shooting Slow Mo videos. Geoff had been pulled away by Burnie and Barbara to work out schedules for the upcoming weeks. It was just Michael, Ray, and Ryan in the office. Michael looked at Ray and nodded. It was time.

Ryan sat at his desk with headphones over his ears, determined to ignore them. Michael slammed his hand on the desk, leaning as close to Ryan as he could. That got Ryan’s attention.

“What?” He asked, pushing his headphones back to scowl up at them.

Michael refused to be deterred. “We need to talk.”

“No we don’t. I’m busy.” Ryan turned back to his computer.

Michael turned his monitor off.

“What the fuck!” Ryan exclaimed.

Michael ignored the outburst. “Why have you been avoiding us?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.”

Ray put a hand on Michael’s shoulder, pulling him back slightly. “What Michael means is that everyone, and we do mean everyone, noticed that you refuse to interact with us anymore.”

“Everyone is obviously imagining things.” Ryan said, trying to defend himself.

“You ran across the parking lot, in the opposite direction of your car, when you saw us.” Michael injected. Ray glared at him.

Ryan blushed slightly. “That-that had nothing to do with you.”

Michael opened his mouth to argue but Ray cut in. “Is it because you caught us kissing?”

Ryan stayed silent.

Michael took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Did-was it because you were disgusted by it?”

“What? No, no, no, no, no. You have it all wrong.” Ryan said, frantically. “I wasn’t disgusted. I was-“ He stopped suddenly.

“You were what?” Ray asked.

Ryan bit his lip. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“No, no.” Michael said, preventing Ryan from turning his chair. “This isn’t nothing. _Something_ caused you to ignore us.”

“Really, it’s nothing.” Ryan wouldn’t look at them

“Ryan-“

“Michael, I don’t think we should keep pushing him.” Ray cut in.

“We need to get to the bottom-“

“Not if he doesn’t-“

“He can’t-“

“Not-“

“Bu-“

“It’s because I was jealous.”

Ray and Michael stepped back as Ryan stood up, falling into shocked silence. Ryan’s nostrils flared and his hands clenched. “I’m fucking jealous of you guys ok. I wished I was I was the one kissing you ok?” Ryan stopped short, realizing what he said. “I’m-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Ryan-“

“I’m sorry.” Ryan said again, before running out.

“Ryan wait. “ Michael tried running after him, but Ray held him back.

“I think Ryan needs some time to pull himself together.” Ray said.

“I don’t know, Ray. Do you think that’s wise?” Michael looked back at the door that Ryan left through.

“I think we need to talk about he said.”

“Oh, right.” Yeah they should probably talk this. But neither of them said anything. Finally, Michael sighed. “So Ryan wants to kiss us?”

“Yeah.” Ray bit his lip. “Ho-How do you…feel about it?” He looked up at the other through his eyelashes.

Michael didn’t know what to say. On one hand, he didn’t want to say anything that would hurt Ray or cause them to break up. On the other, this is exactly what he wanted. Well. Not exactly. He could do without Ryan running away and forcing them into this awkward conversation. It’s close enough though, especially if he could get the ball rolling.

“Ray, I-I think there’s something I should tell you.” Michael began.

“Shit, you’re not breaking up with me are you?” Ray asked, eyes going wide.  

“What? No. Nothing like that. You’re my mate, remember?” Michael brought Ray closer, brushing a hand over his neck. “You wear my mark. I could never get rid you.”

Ray blushed but smiled, leaning into Michael’s touch. “Ok. Well, what do you want to tell me? Does it have anything to do with the Ryan situation?”

“Yeah. Maybe we should sit down.” Michael led them over to their desks. Once they were situated, he ran a hand through his hair. “I want you know that I do love you ok and want you to remember that as we talk about this. I never want to break up with you, but…I’m polyamorous.”

Ray sat back, blinking. “Oh.”

Michael rushed on. “I do, do love you and want to be with you and spend time with you and everything. But I also have those same…feelings…for others.”

“Others?” Ray questioned. “As in more than one other person?” Michael nodded. “I’m guessing Ryan is one of them since we’re talking about this now. Who else?”

Michael took a deep breath. “The rest of the guys. Jack. Geoff. Gavin.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in and that it’s not normal. But I’m also a dragon and you seemed to take that ok.” Michael looked at Ray hopefully. “Really, compared to that, is this that big of a deal?”

“Michael, I-“Ray leaned in to kiss him. Michael was surprised but gladly accepted it, hoping that this wasn’t a break up kiss. When Ray broke apart, he smiled at him. “I’m really happy to hear you say that. Because I have those same feelings for them too.”

Michael perked up. “Really?”

Ray nodded. “Really. I’ve been worried because I knew I had those feelings and was hoping that by dating you I could get over them. But they didn’t. I’ve been so worried that you would find me disgusting.”

“Oh Ray.” Michael kissed him again. “Not disgusted in the slightest. So we’re on the same page?”

Ray smiled briefly before frowning again and looking at their door. “Now we have to talk to Ryan.”

Michael looked at the door too. “We do.”

~

You should come talk to me about Dragon!Michael-or any of my other stories- at [GanglyLimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms Welcomed.


	14. Instinct to Fix Things-Michael, Ray, and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lads have a talk with Ryan

Finding Ryan was easy considering Michael could follow his scent trail. Following his unique scent of leather bound books, Michael lead Ray through the building till they reached an exit door that lead into a small alley that was hardly used for anything other than for smoke breaks. Ryan was sitting on the concrete stairs, head in his hands. He turned his head when he heard the door open and, upon seeing the two of them, stood up.

“Hey.” He said, shifting his feet.

“Hey.” Ray greeted, taking a step forward. Michael stood back by the door. Though he was sure he wouldn’t blow up again, they had decided that Ray should be the one to do the talking.

Ryan couldn’t quit meet their eyes. He bit his lip before sighing and running a hand through his hair. “A-About earlier. Look, I’m sorry. Can we just forget it ever happened?”

Ray shook his head. “No, Ryan.”

Ryan’s shoulder sagged. “Oh.” He sounded so small and hopeless, Michael immediately wanted to hug him. Assure him everything is alright. “Well, we can still work together, right?”

Ray took another step forward. Ryan tensed. Ray held up his hands, taking another small step. “Ryan, I think we have a misunderstanding we need to talk about.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I fucked up. I’m sorry.” Ryan’s voice was bland. “I hope someday we can repair our friendship.” Ryan turned around, as if he was going to walk away.

“You’re an idiot.” Michael said, keeping his eyes on Ryan.

“Michael.” Ray hissed.

“What? It’s true.” Michael uncrossed his arms, strolling towards the older man. “And here’s why.”

Michael grabbed Ryan’s shoulder, spinning him around till the two were facing before fisting a hand in the other’s shirt and pulling him forward into a kiss. Michael kept his eyes open, determined, as he watched Ryan’s own widen, flicking between Michael and a flabbergasted Ray.

When the two broke apart, Michael didn’t release his grip on Ryan’s shirt. “That’s why.”

“What happened to we need to talk to him first?” Ray asked, but now that the initial shock was over, Michael could hear amusement in his tone.

Michael shrugged. “You know, things happen.”

Ryan was still standing there, mouth open. “Wh-wh-what? I mean-aren’t you two-? What just happen?”

The two shared a look. “Maybe we should take an early lunch? We have a lot to talk about.”

~

A quick trip to Which Wich and the three of them were sitting down at one of the tables, picking at their sandwiches.  When no one spoke up after five minutes, Michael sighed. “So I’ll start. After your confession, Ray and I talked. We like you Ryan and would love to involve you in our relationship.”

“Really?” Ryan asked, looking hopeful before he pursed his lips. “I feel that a ‘but’ is coming up.”

Michael smiled. “But. We talked and you’re not the only we would like to add.”

“It’s the rest of the guys.” Ray added.

Ryan leaned back, taking a bite of his sandwich. The two lads watched him nervously. Finally, he nodded. “I have to admit. I’ve always thought of the other guys the same way I’ve thought about you. It’s just that,” He shrugged, looking down, “I’ve always struggled with it. Being attracted to more than one person. I’ve only had monogamous relationships so thinking about being with more than one person, let alone five other people, is sort of. Weird?” He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the two of them. “I don’t know. I _do_ want to be with you two and the others but I feel a little overwhelmed thinking about it.”

Michael didn’t really know what to say to that. He’s always known that one mate wouldn’t be enough for him and any fears he might have had were worked out a long time ago. One of the benefits of living hundreds of years.

Luckily, Ray came to the rescue. He reached across the table and took one of Ryan’s hands. “Hey, I have the same worries. In fact, until you said something, I was going to try to just forget about my feelings for the others.”

Michael looked at him. “Really?” Ray nodded and Michael grimaced. “Well I kind of feel like a douche now. I should have told you from the beginning I was polyamorous.”

Ray smiled, giving Michael’s shoulder a brief squeeze. “Hey, it worked out didn’t it. But the point is, I understand how you feel Ryan. And we don’t need to jump into a six-way relationship. We can start with the three of us, go on dates. Spend some time with just me or just Michael. We’ll take everything slow.”

Michael took Ryan’s other hand. “Exactly what Ray said. This will just be like any other relationship and we’re make sure that everyone is comfortable, ok?”

Ryan smiled and Michael thought it was cute how shy he looked. “Yeah, I would like that. Just taking things slow.” He coughed, blushing a bit. “So, can I ask you guys out for dinner now or…?

Michael chuckled. “You got yourself a date.”

~

Come talk to me at my tumblr-[GanglyLimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was ok. Comments and Criticisms are always welcomed.


	15. Instinct To Prepare: Michael and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Ray finally get that date with Ryan. But first they have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile, huh. Sorry about taking so long. Life happened. But my plan is to focus on this story and I hope to update every week from now until it's finished (maybe, hopefully). I do have the next chapter halfway finished though, so there's some good news.   
> Anyway I hope you enjoy.

It took a month for them to go on a date with Ryan.

 With RTX fast approaching plus Geoff and Gavin planning to leave on a two week trip out to Germany, the Achievement Hunters were busy trying to stay ahead of schedule and make sure they had enough videos to appease their fans. Which meant no time for dates.

Michael had to give Ryan credit though, the first Friday they had where they could leave the office before 1am Michael got a text asking if he and Ray would like to come over to Ryan’s apartment for dinner. Michael agreed, probably a bit too aggressively. But oh well.

Ray’s apartment wasn’t all that far from Ryan’s, which in turn wasn’t that far from the office, so as soon as they got the all clear from Geoff that they could leave, that’s where the two lads headed. Michael kept some of his stuff there anyways, including clothes, so it was the ideal situation.

Though he did wish he would have left slightly better shirts.

“Should I go with one of our shirts or the one that I wore two days ago and didn’t wash?” Michael called out to Ray, who was taking a shower in the nearby bathroom.

“Definitely one of ours.” Ray called back. “Did you forget about what happened in that other shirt? Don’t subjugate Ryan to that.”

Michael picked up the shirt in question and grimaced. He had forgotten that Ray had ambushed him when he was wearing this and the two didn’t quite get all their clothes off before getting _each other_ off. “At least it narrows down the choices.” He muttered before throwing the shirt into the corner.

He heard the shower turn off has he was picking between two shirts (should he go with a Ryan shirt to try to be funny or would it just make Ryan mad?). He turned when feet reached the door, giving Ray a whistle of approval as the lad stepped into the room in just a towel.

 Ray rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have something better to do than ogle me?”

“Nope.”

Ray shook his head. “Come on. We’re supposed to be at Ryan’s at 8.” Ray paused and Michael could sense his hesitation. “Speaking of. Are you…uh, going to…tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Michael asked, having finally decided on a shirt, pulling it over his head.

Ray scratched the back of his head. “You know. Tell him that your, uh, not exactly. Human.”

Michael stopped. “Oh.” _Oh._ He’d forgotten about that important detail. Michael ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, eventually I was going to tell all of you.”

“But you haven’t.”

“No, I haven’t.” Michael sat on the bed. “I do want to tell them. I have to.”

Ray sat next to him. “But.”

“But I’m worried. This isn’t me coming out and telling you guys I ran with the Mafia and did hard time. I’m revealing to you that I’m a dragon. Therefore, also revealing to you that all that fairytale stuff is, you know, sort of true. That’s a big deal.”

Ray’s hand settled on Michael’s leg, comfortably warm. “I know.” He soothed. “Trust me, Michael, I know. I’m incredibly grateful that you showed me.” He gave Michael a reassuring grin. “And I’m not saying that you have to tell him tonight. But I do think you should tell him soon. Especially now that we’re dating him.”

Michael looked at Ray. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ray grinned. “I’m just saying that once we started dating, you became very dragon like.”

“I did not.”

“Michael, you were in my lap purring yesterday when we were watching TV. And not just a light purr, like you thought you were doing. This was full on rumbling.” Ray laughed at the pout Michael was giving him now.

Michael huffed, but he couldn’t help smiling also. It was nice to not have to hide that part of him, to be able to do stuff like that and not have to worry about others freaking out. He wanted more of that comfortableness, wanted it all the time. Michael dreamed of the day he could stretch his wings at their office and it just be a normal thing for the rest of them.

The kicker was, he could have that. He could probably have it right this second if he wasn’t such a chicken shit.  Both Ray and Geoff knew, and even if Geoff hesitated sometimes in touching him, they were taking it well. Would the rest of his mates’ reactions be the same? Or would they recoil in fear as others had?

“The choice is yours.” Ray’s voice brought him out of his musings. He looked over at the other lad. Ray gave him a soft smile. “Whether you tell the others or not, the choice is yours. I won’t tell anyone, I had promised you that. It’s all up to you and I’ll support you for any decision you make.”

Michael grabbed the front of Ray’s shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Ray made a sound of surprise but was quick to join in. Eventually, Michael pulled away. “How’d I ever end up so lucky as to have you?”

Ray grabbed the back of Michael’s head and pulled him back in.  “The universe is funny, I guess.” He whispered against Michael’s lips. Michael smirked and pushed him back against the bed.

The two were pulled away from their making out when Michael happened to glance at the clock and notice it was almost time to go. He laughed when Ray only continued to kiss at his neck, pushing at him. “Come on, you fuck. Don’t give me a hickey.”

Ray looked up and pouted at him, rolling his eyes when Michael continued to push at him. “Fine. Fine. You’re no fun.” Ray stretched out and went to get dressed. Michael watched him fondly.

“Hey Ray.” Michael called out. Ray stopped by the door, looking over his shoulder at the boy still laying there. “I’m going to tell them. Not tonight. But…I will.”

Ray smiled. “I know. Now get your lazy ass up.”

Michael laughed, doing what he was told.

~

Come talk to me at my Tumblr-[GanglyLimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Critiscms are welcomed!


	16. Instinct to Relax?-Michael, Ray, Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Ray and Ryan on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm hoping Tuesdays will be my update days. And a few things to know about everyone's living spaces: Geoff and Jack both have houses and everyone else has apartments by themselves. Also, I love the headcanon that Ryan is a plant guy so yay for that.

Even though Michael’s known Ryan for a couple years now, and even after having spent most of that time locked in a small room with the man, he still felt his stomach twist itself into knots as he raised his hand to knock on Ryan’s door. He heard a muffled curse, followed by Ryan shouting at them that he’ll be there in a second and footsteps running around. Michael giggled causing Ray to look at him, but before he could tell the other lad why, the door opened to reveal a harried looking Ryan.

Both boys had to do a double take as they looked over Ryan. The older man was attractive, handsome as hell as Michael liked to say, but he often hid it behind baggy jeans and loose shirts, only giving the rest of them faint glances of a soft, furry stomach. Now though.

Michael always knew that Ryan deep down was a sweater guy. The sweater he had on now was light grey, tight across his chest, and soft looking. On anyone else, Michael would have thought they looked like a frumpy dad but Ryan pulled it off. Amazingly, his jeans were just as tight, hugging his legs and showing off those muscles he kept hidden. His hair looked like it was styled at first but after, what Michael guessed was constantly running his hands through it, it stood slightly up and looked.

 Rumpled.

(Michael didn’t even know Ryan could looked rumpled, _what the hell_. No man should be this good looking.)

They stood there for a few seconds, taking each other in before Ryan blinked and slumped against the door frame. “D-Did I overdress?”

Michael and Ray both looked down at themselves. Fuck, compared to Ryan, they looked like slobs, Michael in a wrinkled shirt and Ray in the first thing he found in his dresser. Michael blushed, sputtering. “Wh-No. No. You’re fine. I mean, both _fine_ and fine. We-fuck, dude, I don’t know-“

“We were expecting a causal get together.” Ray jumped in, face just as red as Michael’s. “Man. Fuck. We-shit, we can’t even change-“

“I’m so sorry, Ryan-“

“We’re so stupid-“

“-already messed it up-“

“-God, are we _stupid_ -“

Ryan held up a hand, stopping them. His cheeks were slightly red as well but he was smiling. “How about we agree we all messed up and continue with our…date?” Though it wasn’t a question, the way Ryan said date made it sound like one.

“Date.” Ray said firmly.

Michael nodded. “When a good looking man cooks for you, it’s definitely a date.” He winked at Ryan and enjoyed the way it made the color return to Ryan’s cheeks. “So, uh, can we come in?”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah. Come in, please.” Ryan stepped to the side, sweeping one hand out to present his apartment. Michael and Ray eagerly pushed past each other, both wanting to be the first to see everything. Of everyone, Ryan’s apartment was the one Michael’s seen the least. When they hang out as a group, it was mostly at either Geoff’s or Michael’s places. In fact, this will be the first time he’ll ever see Ryan’s apartment.

It was both what he had imagined and not. The place was clean, and yet Michael could see various knickknacks littered along the counter and tabletops. Books were everywhere, stuffed full in shelves with a few laying around. Pictures hung on the white walls and it warmed Michael’s heart to see most of them were pictures of the group, even if Ryan looked disgruntled in most of them.

What surprised Michael the most was the sheer amount of plants Ryan had. There was one on the table, one of the counter, three along the windowsill in the kitchen, two on the bookshelf, and, from what Michael could smell, a few in the back rooms.

All in all, the place looked homely and lived in. It fit Ryan perfectly.

“Nice.” Ray said once he’s fully looked around.

“Sorry about the mess.” Ryan said, heading towards the kitchen. Michael took a small sniff and his mouth instantly watered. Whatever Ryan was cooking smelled delicious. “I didn’t have much time to clean up. Hopefully my cooking makes up for it.”

“Dude, its fine.” Ray replied, following Ryan into the kitchen. “You should see my apartment. What are you cooking? It’s making my stomach rumble.”

“Pasta. May of made too much of it so I hope you guys are hungry.”

Michael slowly walked around the living room, looking at pictures and listening to the two of them make small talk. He couldn’t help smiling. This is what he has always wanted. Casually conversations and homemade dinner, being able to give each other loving smiles and talk about cute Ryan looks in an apron or how Ray doesn’t know anything about cooking. Being able to relax with the people he loves. The only thing that could be better were if the others were here.

_One day_ Michael thought before his attention was grabbed by Ryan calling his name.

~

Michael was floating high Monday morning. The weekend had been magical. The date with Ryan was amazing and the older man proved himself to be a real gentleman, offering to drive Michael home (which Michael refused politely, he had plans to spend the night at Ray’s anyway) and giving them chaste kisses when they left (Michael didn’t let him get away with it though. He pulled Ryan back to give him a _real_ kiss.)

Saturday was just a relaxing day, spent playing video games and watching movies with Ray, completed with pizza and singing along to bad songs they searched on the internet. Sunday left Michael feeling lonely when he had to go back to his own place, but he got some cleaning done and a few homemade videos filmed, so he was left with a productive feeling by the time he went to bed.

His morning was greeted with a good-morning text from Ray (filled with obnoxious kissy faces) and he was able to sneak a kiss to Ryan when he passed by him getting into the building. Michael was still grinning at the way Ryan had turned red when he sat down in his chair.

“Someone’s jolly this morning.” Gavin commented, looking away from the video he was editing.

“Fuck jolly, I’m in a tip top mood.” Michael replied, stretching out his arms as his computer woke up. “Had a fucking good weekend. How about you?”

Gavin shrugged, going back to his video. “It was alright. Hung out with Geoff for a bit, then spent the rest playing Halo and Destiny.”

“Oh yeah?” Michael looked over at him. “You leveling up your Hunter for that raid-“He cut himself off, blinking at Gavin.

There, right fucking there, on his collar bone, barely fucking covered up with Gavin’s shirt, was a _hickey._ A full on, fucking dark purple bruise. Michael’s whole world narrowed done to it. He didn’t even hear Gavin’s reply, he was too busy staring.

Someone had touched his mate. Someone other than _him_ had given Gavin a _mark_.

~

Come talk to me at my Tumblr-[GanglyLimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms Welcomed!


	17. Instinct to Rage: Michael and...Joel?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael freaks out in the restroom. The last person he would of expected comes to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit nervous about how this chapter is going to be received. I hope it's ok?

Michael crashed through the bathroom door, running straight for the toilet.  He fumbled with the lock for a few seconds, then bent over, heaving.

_Come on man, pull yourself together. You can do this._ But every time Michael thought he was back in control, his mind would flash to Gavin and his fucking _hickey._ It was all Michael could do to reign in his dragon.

Michael knew his mates were no virgins. He wouldn’t wish that upon them nor did he have any desire to be their first and only. He had also seen the aftermath before. Geoff coming in after a night at the bar, the faint smell of orgasm on him. Ray with his hair messed up a way that the other man didn’t notice but Michael did. Ryan with a rosy glow and wide smile that only came from being sexed.

But this was different in that no one has dared put a mark on them before. That was Michael’s _right_. The lad snarled, mouth pulling back to show sharp canines. That was his right. How dare anyone take that away.

Closing his eyes, Michael took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out. He couldn’t go dragon right now, not at work. Not in front of everyone, especially his mates.

The door opened. Michael’s breath caught, trying his hardest to make it seem like he wasn’t ten seconds away from ripping apart the wall in front of him.

“Michael?”

_Joel?_

“Michael, it’s me.” Joel softly knocked on the door. “I, uh, smelt your dragon.”

Michael didn’t make any other move than to close his eyes. _Shit, if Joel smelt it than I must be close._

“I, uh. I know I might…not be the person you want to see right now.” _No shit._ “But. But I am a dragon also. I’ve been through a lot of things. And maybe I can help you.”

Michael huffed before straighten up and opening the door. Joel took a step back, clearly surprised that Michael did what he asked. “Fuck, Michael. Your eyes are gold.”

“It’s not very helpful that I’m around another dragon right now.” Michael growled out, voice gravelly.

Joel put his hands up, making sure to not look Michael in the eye. “I know. Trust me I know. But I’m the only one who knows what you’re going through. So let me help.”

Michael took in another deep breath. Joel was right. He hated to admit it but having someone around who knew how to deal with this (who could help control him if he wound up going on a rampage) was already making him feel better.

“So. What’s up?” Joel asked.

The bruise flashed across his mind and Michael counted to ten. “Gavin has a hickey.” He gritted out.

Joel whistled, running a hand through his hair. “Ok. Ok. Fuck. Yeah, that’s tough.”

Michael snorted. “Thanks Joel, that makes me feel better.”

Joel shot him a look. “Ok. First thing first. Have you two officially mated?”

Michael’s shoulders sagged. “No.”

Joel cocked his head. “Are you dating?”

“No.”

“…Talking about dating?”

“Nope.”

“And you’re sure it wasn’t any of the other guys?”

“Absolutely.” The scent covering Gavin wasn’t any that he recognized.

“Hm.” Joel paused, eyebrows furrowing. “I-ok. I know Gavin’s had other lovers…”

“Yep.” Jealousy flared like hot fire through Michael’s veins before he got himself under control again. “He has.”

“…then what’s the problem? You’ve never acted this way before.”

“I don’t know.” Michael spat. “Ok, Joel. I don’t fucking know. I’ve always been able to hide it before. It’s just…it’s just….” Michael spun to the right, fist lashing out and hitting the wall. Joel flinched at the sound, wincing at the hole that formed.

_Deep breath. Let it out slow._ “It’s just,” Michael whispered but trusted that Joel could hear him. “It’s just…I thought we were getting closer. Not just Gavin and I, but all of us. I’m dating Ray. We’re dating Ryan. Jack and Geoff went out together last week for drinks and have been flirting ever since. Ryan and Gavin have been teasing each other more. We were _bonding_.” Michael hissed, silted gold eyes turning to look at Joel.

“We were getting so close to actually coming together, I could taste it. But now?” Michael shrugged, looking back at the wall. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t that that Gavin slept with someone. It was that he slept with someone _now_ , when Michael had been so sure that they were coming together. “What if this means he doesn’t feel the same? That he doesn’t want us?”

Joel let out a sigh. “Michael, this could mean a lot of things, especially if you haven’t made it clear to him that you _do_ want him. But,” Joel moved closer to Michael, one hand reaching out as if he was going to pat Michael’s shoulder, but thought better of it. “I want…need you to think about the idea of Gavin not wanting you to become his mate. That he doesn’t want you.”

Michael hissed at him.

Joel refused to back up. “This is why I need you to think about it. Come to terms with it. Because we can’t have you going full dragon if it comes to that.”

Michael bit his lip. He didn’t want to think about it, the possibility of one of his mates not wanting him. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Joel was right. Michael wouldn’t force someone to mate with him, no matter how much his dragon wanted to. If Gavin decided to he didn’t want Michael or the others, he’d have to let him go. His dragon though…

“How do I get my dragon to accept that?” Michael asked.

“I’m not going to lie to you, it’ll be hard. Your dragon will be wrathful. The burn you’ll feel will only get worse as time goes on. When he meets someone else, you’ll want to rampage. Burn the city down.”

“You’re not exactly making me feel better here, Joel.”

Joel smiled. “You will get better. You have mates now, right? They’ll help you. Surround yourself with them, focus on them, and you’ll be fine.”

Michael eyed Joel. “You talk like you’ve been through this kind of thing before.”

Joel’s smile faded. “I’m an old being, Michael. I’ve been through a lot.” Joel turned to leave but paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked back over his shoulder at Michael, eyes now the same shade of gold. “You and Gavin have an amazing friendship. Remember that.”

Then he left.

Michael sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. This was too much for him. Already, a headache was forming, his dragon was pacing inside. He back ached with the need to release his wings and his throat burned with unleashed fire. He didn’t know how he was going to get through the rest of the day.

Of course, that’s when a knock came at the door.

Michael jumped, looking around widely. “Um, occupied!”

“Michael?” Shit, it was Geoff. “Hey, it’s me. Gavin, uh, Gavin said you ran away earlier? And that you looked pissed? Are you ok?”

Sighing, Michael opened the door. There was no way he could avoid this. When he opened the door, Geoff stood there, one hand raised to knock again. The man was obviously worried, face set into a serious frown as his eyes roamed over Michael.

Blinking, Geoff took a step back. “Shit, man. You’re eyes are gold.”

Michael rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. I’m…going through some shit right now.”

Geoff was still staring at him. “Dragon shit?”

Michael grinned a bit. “Yeah, dragon shit.”

Geoff frowned. “Are you ok? Do you need to go home?”

Man did he wish he could go home, he didn’t know how he could go the rest of the day feeling like this. Like he was going to explode any second. But…”No, we have too much to film today.”

“Michael, I think you need to go home.”

“Geoff, I’m fine.”

“Michael,” Michael blinked at how serious Geoff sounded. “Go home.”

“Geoff?” Michael asked.

Geoff blinked, seemingly to realize how he sounded. His shoulders dropped and when he next spoke, his voice was softer. “I’m just worried. This isn’t normal for you, right?”

Michael shook his head.

“There’s no need to stress you out anymore. Go home, calm yourself, take care of whatever you need to be taken care of.”

“Yeah, ok.” Michael said, though he was still hesitant. He absolutely didn’t want to go back into the office and face Gavin, not if he wasn’t sure if he could control himself. But there was something about Geoff… “I’ll do that. Could you tell the guys I wasn’t feeling good?”

Geoff and nodded and moved out of the way for Michael to pass. “Take care of yourself, Michael.”

There was something about the way Geoff was acting that left a sour note in the pit of Michael’s stomach.

~

Come talk to me at my tumblr-[GanglyLimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a lot of people have guessed that Geoff was the one to give Gavin the hickey and, while I thought about it writing this chapter, I decided not to go that route. Only because I have some special Geoff centered angst that I have planned. I hope nobody is too disappointed by that.


	18. Instinct to Hurt-Michael and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the next day and things are only worse.

The next day, everything was a little…awkward.

Clearly, everyone was worried about his sudden exit. Ryan had called him last night, asking if he’s ok and Jack had texted him the same thing. Gavin had texted also, but Michael had ignored it. Ray had stopped by and, after some coxing, had been able to get what was wrong from the distressed dragon.

That had not gone well. Ray didn’t understand why the sight of a hickey on one of his _mates_ would upset him and even giving the explanation that it was a dragon thing didn’t help.

“It looks like you’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Ray had said.

Michael growled, black smoke puffing out from between his clenched teeth. “Doesn’t it bother you? That Gavin may never be ours?”

Ray scowled back at him. “Don’t growl at me. Of course I’m disappointed but this doesn’t have to mean he won’t be ours. Why are you freaking out about this?”

The conversation went down from there and Ray left in a huff. The lad had only looked at him when Michael walked in this morning, seeming determined to ignore him. For some reason, Geoff was taking the same approach, only grunting when Michael said hello. When Michael had apologized for leaving, Geoff only nodded and anytime Michael tried to start a conversation, Geoff either nodded or didn’t bother to reply at all. Geoff frustrated Michael the most because he had no idea why the other man would be ignoring him.

Gavin kept making eye contact with him, mouth opening as if he was going to say something before closing it and turning back to his work. Michael felt like a jackass but he still couldn’t bring himself to talk to Gavin. Not with that hickey still staring at him.

Jack and Ryan weren’t oblivious to what was going on. They couldn’t be, with the others tap dancing around each other and commentary in videos were tense. Several times, Jack came up to ask if he was ok. Michael knows he didn’t convince him with his forced smile.

Ryan was a little more aggressive, cornering Michael alone to talk. Michael hated how much this was affecting all of them, but he couldn’t tell the others without revealing his nature and, after his fight with Ray, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to. Lying to Ryan made him feel queasy, especially because they were dating, but there was no other way.

By the time they all left for home, Michael was feeling worse than he did the day before. He hated how awful it felt to be stuck in that room all day, a room that usually felt more like home than even his own apartment. There was no way they could release the videos they filmed today, with how awful their energy was, so they’d have to re-film, causing more work than was necessary. Watching Ray ask Ryan for a ride home, when they usually rode together, and leaving without their usual good-bye kiss was just the knife twisting deeper.

Once home, Michael threw his bag against the wall, stalking over to his refrigerator and grabbing a beer. He drained the can, smacking his lips, but the alcohol only made his stomach turn more. “Doesn’t get me fucking drunk anyways.” He growled, crushing the can and throwing it into a nearby trashcan.

Grabbing the edge of his counter, he hung his head. Everything was a disaster and Michael knows, _knows_ , it’s his fault. Glancing at his phone, Michael took a deep breath and checked his messages.

There were three from Gavin

 “ _Hey, you ok?”_

_“You ok?”_

_“Can you call me, you pleb. Please?”_

Michael felt a pang in his chest. He was such an asshole. _You guys have an amazing friendship. Remember that._ Michael closed his eyes. He hated when Joel was right. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, an inner war fighting inside him.

Michael was startled out of staring at his screen by a knock on the door. Shaking his head, he sat down his phone and went to answer. Michael was extremely surprised to see it was Ryan who stood on the other side.

The dragon continued to stare at Ryan as the other man fidgeted. Clearing his throat, Ryan finally spoke. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, this…this is kind of unexpected.” Michael stood to the side, letting the other man in.

“I know and I know today has been kind of tough.” Ryan held up his hand, stopping Michael from replying. “We all know, but Jack and I seem to be out of the loop a bit. I tried to talk to Ray about it but all he said was that you guys got into a fight.”

Michael turned towards his kitchen, Ryan following him, and grabbed another beer, popping it open. “Yeah. We did.”

Ryan watched him, grimacing at the sight of Michael slamming back the drink. “Michael, I want to help. We can’t have another day like today, you know that right?”

“I do. But it’s-I don’t think you’ll understand, Ryan. It’s complicated. I tried to explain it to Ray and look where we’re at now.”

Ryan pulled out a chair, sitting down and resting his head on his hand. “So make it uncomplicated for me. You’ll never know if I’ll understand unless you explain it.”

Michael shook his head. “It’s really not that simple.”

Ryan gave him a look, not making any move to leave or drop it.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Look, something Gavin did pissed me off and Ray doesn’t think it should. So now we’re fighting.”

“And you’ll ignoring Gavin.” Ryan snorted. “Don’t look so surprised. Gavin asked me if I had talked to you, saying you were ignoring his texts. He was really upset about it.”

Michael glanced at his phone, taking another sip.

“Michael,” Michael looked back at Ryan, surprised to see that the other man had stood up, walking towards him. He grabbed Michael’s drink, carefully taking it and setting it down. Ryan’s blue eyes never left Michael’s. “Let me help. I don’t like this, all this fighting. I want-need to fix this.”

Michael reached up, dragging Ryan into a slow kiss. After the crappy day he had and how sick he felt, Ryan was helping him feel better. Michael wanted to fix this too, and though he was a bit overwhelm with how many things he had to fix, he felt better knowing Ryan wanted to make things better too. He loved this man, trying to convey how much through this kiss.

“There are some things I have to tell you first.” Michael said, once they broke apart.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Michael took a deep breath in. “Yeah.” Grabbing Ryan’s hand, he led the other into the living room, pushing him down on the couch. “Just…please don’t freak out too much.”

Michael turned around, heart beating fast. He took his shirt off, thinking about Ray and Geoff’s reactions, hoping that this would be the same. Closing his eyes, he let himself go.

There was a gasp and rush of movement. When Michael turned around, Ryan had flipped over the couch, making it a barrier between the two. He was crouched down, eyes wide as he stared at the Michael’s impressive wings, only flicking down once to look at Michael’s tail wrapped around his leg.

“What the fuck are you?”

~

Come talk to me at my tumblr-[Ganglylimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms are Welcomed!


	19. Instinct to Reveal  3-Michael and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan freaks out and Michael tries to help.

Michael locked eyes with Ryan, not daring to move an inch. Every twitch of his unleashed tail or flap of his wings made Ryan flinch and take a step back. The poor man already looked so pale, sweat dripping down his face, and the stench of fear was almost overpowering.

Michael hated this, hated every time his mates looked at him like some kind of monster. Though he knew that this was a necessary evil, a thing that had to be done because there was no way he could keep this a secret from them, it hurt every single time they screamed and ran away. It went against everything he was for, all his instincts to _protect_ and _provide_ shuddered in self-hatred for being the source of their fear.

“Ryan.” Michael said, wincing as his mate’s name came out with more of a growl than he liked. Swallowing, he tried again. “Ryan, it’s fine.”

“Fine?” Wow, Michael didn’t even know Ryan’s voice could crack like that. The human had backed himself against the wall, hands trying to find purchase on something to steady himself. “Fine? Look at you. You-you-you got fucking wings! And horns! And a goddamn tail, how is any of this fine?”

“Ryan, please calm down, you’ll attract the neighbors.” Michael pleaded, taking one step forward as slowly as he could.

“S-s-stay back. Stay back.” Ryan yelled, breath coming faster and faster. “Just. Please, stay back.”

Michael came to dead halt, biting his lip. He should of thought through this more or at least gave Ryan more of a heads up of what’s to come. “Do you want to talk through this or-?”

“I want you to shut up.” Ryan hissed, a hand coming up to rub at his face. “And let me figure this out.”

Michael’s jaw clicked shut, his whole body slumping. Taking a deep breath, he forced his appendages away. “Does…Does this help?”

Ryan peeked at him through his fingers before he lifted his head, blinking at Michael in surprise. “Oh. Um, yeah, it does.”

Michael nodded. He looked everywhere but at Ryan, letting the human sort out his thoughts. Unfortunately, Michael wasn’t the most patient person ever. After a few moments of silence and fidgets, he decided to try again. “Would you like, um, do you want to talk to Ray about it? He might be able to help.”

“Ray knows?” Ryan demanded. “Wait, what am I talking about. Of course he knows. You two are so _close._ ” The words were spat at Michael, who flinched. “I bet Gavin knows too, doesn’t he?”

“No, he doesn’t. And Ray didn’t know till, like, three months ago.” Michael defended.

That seemed to catch Ryan off guard, “Really?” Michael nodded. “Oh. I thought…or I guess I assumed that, you know, because you knew him before…that you had already told him…and-“

Michael watched as Ryan continued to ramble, face getting more red the longer he went on as the dragon became more confused. It sounded like Ryan was apologizing for something but Michael had no clue what it was. “Ryan, really, it’s ok. No need to be sorry.”

Ryan flushed redder at that. “I’m so confused and upset…and-and-and you’re not human!”

“No, I’m not and it’s ok to be confused and upset. I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. But, instead of panicking, we need to talk this out. Ok?”

Ryan ran his eyes over Michael, thinking everything over, before nodding and cautiously, _cautiously,_ removing himself from the wall. “Ok, yeah. Let’s talk.”

Sighing in relief, Michael motioned towards the couch. “Ask me anything you want.”

~

Michael ended up taking the chair as Ryan took the couch, doing his best to answer all the questions the human had. Ryan had been almost shy at first, asking simple questions such as what was he and how old, before diving into harder to answer areas.

“Is it like having a split personality?”

“No.” Michael struggled to explain. “It’s more…like I grew up in a different culture from you but instead of me being from Asia, it’s me as a dragon vs. me as a human. Being around humans so long, I understand why and how they do things but it still confuses me sometimes. Then there are times you guys do things that…make me react differently than how humans would react.”

Ryan took a second to process that. “So you have control over your…dragon side?”

“Absolutely.”

Ryan hesitated. “Could you make them appear again? Your…dragon…bits?”

“I can make them appear and disappear at any time. Or, well, almost anytime. When I’m hurt or if something surprises me that makes me react in a non-human way, they tend to pop out. But usually, it’s like stretching an arm for me.” Michael focused, willing for only his tail to appear. It was easier for him to control and more comfortable when more of his dragon was at the surface, but he didn’t want to scare Ryan off now that the man finally appeared calm enough to deal with this. “Doing this is easy. I have to focus more on not letting them out on accident.”

Ryan stared at Michael’s crimson scaled tail, biting his lip. His hand twitched before Ryan gained control of it again.

“You can touch it, if you like?”

Ryan glanced down before looking back at Michael’s face and then back down to his tail. He reached forward several times, withdrawing each time, before finally taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and grabbing it.

Michael yelped, startling Ryan who jumped, falling off the couch. The dragon cackled but helped the human up. “Sorry, it’s a bit sensitive when you surprise it.”

“You’re the one who told me to touch it.” Ryan mumbled, blushing lightly and fake swatting dust off his shirt.

Michael’s smirk turned more fond as he watched the other man, one hand absently petting over his tail. “Yeah but I wasn’t expecting you to yank on it. I feel sorry for anyone you give a hand job to. Goddamn you could pull a dick off with that grip.”

Ryan sputtered causing Michael to fall into a fit of giggles, waving off the other man’s attempts to defend himself. “I’m just kidding; I know you have great dick jerking techniques.” He winked.

Ryan huffed, blush darkening, but at least now he was grinning. “Will you let me touch your tail or not?”

Michael shrugged, still grinning as he swung his tail in front of Ryan, letting it gently bob. This time Ryan’s touch was more gentle, still wary but getting braver the more his fingers ran over the scales. Michael watched the human’s face carefully, searching for any signs of distress or fear or anger. The dragon relaxed as all he saw was awe and wonder.

Shaking himself slightly, Ryan withdrew his hand. “So... I’m more calm now.”

“Yeah?” Michael eyed him, ready for a but.

“Had a mild freak out.”

“Rightfully so.”

“But I’m calm, I’m cool- “

“Cool?” Michael asked.

Ryan ignored him. “And I’m ready to handle this like an adult.”

“To be fair to you, you’ve been handling this as well as you could.”

Ryan smiled. “Thanks. Are you hungry? I can cook something.”

“That’s it? No more questions? No more worry?” Michael would of have thought Ryan would have the most questions, besides Gavin (though he expected Gavin’s questions to be fucking _stupid_ ) as they were the two most curious of the group.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still have a thousand more questions for you. But we’ve both have had a long day and we can talk later. Plus, it gives me time to go over everything. So you want to order in or have me cook something?”

It took a moment for Michael to answer. How was it he kept ending up with such supportive and kind boyfriends? “Order in. I’ll pull up a movie and we can have a spontaneous date night.”

~

The two ended up on the couch together, under a blanket as they watched a horror movie and eat Chinese. Michael had been hesitant to get too close to Ryan at first, but after the man had plopped down and forced Michael to put an arm around him, the dragon had figured he was ok with contact.

After laughing their way through the first movie at how stupid the people were and Ryan pointing out all the scientific flaws, Michael flipped through the selections for a second one while Ryan cleaned up and got them more drinks.

“You want a movie about zombies or a movie about killer sheep?”

“Killer sheep?” Ryan called from the kitchen. “That sounds dumb. Let’s watch that.”

Michael grinned. “Ok.” He pressed start for the movie but a hand reached over his shoulder and pushed pause.

“But first, “Ryan walked around handing Michael a beer and plopping down, facing the other man. “We still have to talk about this morning.”

“You want to talk more about dragon stuff?”

“No, no dragon stuff. We still need to talk about what happened with Ray and Gavin.”

“Oh.” With all the excitement from revealing he was a dragon, he had forgotten about this morning. Shifting in his seat to face Ryan, he shrugged. “What about it?”

“You can’t ignore this, Michael. Communication is key to keeping a relationship going.”

Michael huffed but he couldn’t deny Ryan was right. “Ok. I guess.”

Ryan patted his knee. “So my guess is that it has something to do with you being a dragon, right? That’s why you showed me?”

Michael sighed. “Yeah. Gavin…did something that set off my dragon and when I told Ray, he disagreed with how I reacted.”

Ryan nodded, not prying into the exact details further. “And do you still think you’re in the right?”

Michael’s lips thinned, looking away from Ryan, but he couldn’t deny it. “No.”

“So, here’s what we’re going to do, ok? You’re going to text Gavin and apologize. Then tomorrow, you and Ray are going to spend all day together and fix things.”

Michael looked back at Ryan, noticing how soft Ryan’s smile was. “You think that would work?”

“Absolutely. Remember, communication is how this is going to work.” Ryan gave him one last smile before turning towards the TV. “But we can do that later. First, let’s watch sheep brutally murder humans.”

Michael laughed, unpausing the movie. He was one lucky dragon.

~

Come talk to me about dumb dragon Michael at my tumblr-[Ganglylimbs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Criticisms are Welcomed


	20. Instinct to Talk: Michael and Ray, Michael and Gavin, Michael/Ray/Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has some discussions he needs to get through. Time to be a grown-up about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! For anyone still reading this, I have some good news. I finished it! The rest of the story is already written up. I plan to release a chapter a week. The only problem is that this is a pretty busy time for me. So I don't know when each week a chapter will be uploaded. But it will be once a week. 
> 
> So without further ado, I hope that you guys enjoy this.

Michael has never had as many tough discussions in his lifetime as the amount he had in the following week.

It started the next day, after Ryan and his movie marathon, when Michael arrived early so he could pull Ray away into a closet to talk about the night before.

“What?” Ray huffed, as soon as the door shut. It was dark and cramped, but Michael could still see the way Ray’s mouth was turned down and eyes trained with a laser focus on Michael.

Michael took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Ray wasn’t going to be that easy. “Oh really?” He raised an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yes. I’m really, deeply sorry. I know I was acting out of line and it was uncalled for, especially to take it out on you. I’m not a hatchling and I should have a better control over my emotions.” Michael made sure that he was looking into Ray’s eyes the entire time, trying to convey how deeply sorry he was.

Ray stood firm. For a few seconds. Then his defensive stance fell. “I know you’re sorry. And I’m sorry too. I should have _tried_ to see things from your side, instead of immediately saying you were wrong.”

Michael gave a small, hesitant smile. “So. We’re good?”

Ray rolled his eyes before stepping forward to pull Michael into a deep kiss. Breaking away, he gave the dragon a smile. “We’re good.” Then he frowned. “But that doesn’t mean that this whole thing is over. Gavin was worried about you. He wouldn’t stop texting me to ask what happened or to see if I could check up on you.”

Michael sighed, closing his eyes. “I know. I’m going to take him out to lunch today, try to patch things up.”

Ray opened his mouth, then shut it, biting his lip. Michael raised an eyebrow but waited for Ray to collect his thoughts. Finally, Ray spoke up. “Do you think. That maybe it might be time to feel him out? See if Gavin wants to join us?”

“Already?” Michael asked, raising an eyebrow. “We just added Ryan to our relationship and we’re still getting used to that. Do you really think we should add another?”

Ray shrugged. “I don’t know, shouldn’t we? I mean, at least see if he’s interested? It’d be the perfect chance. Explain to him that you saw the hickey and got jealous. See how he reacts to that?”

Now it was Michael’s turn to hesitate. “I don’t know. We should probably talk to Ryan about this first. He has a say in this relationship as well.”

“I don’t see why’d he’d object. Didn’t he say that he liked the others too?” Ray questioned.

“Yeah, but he also said he wanted to take this slow before adding others.” Michael retorted. “Look, I’ll make up with Gavin and then tonight we talk to Ryan about it. That alright.”

Ray sighed. “Yeah, that sounds ok. So we’ll meet at your place?”

“Sounds good.” Michael leaned forward to give Ray a quick kiss. Ray grabbed Michael’s hips and brought him closer, turning his head to deepen the kiss. Michael didn’t question it, just went along. When they pulled away, Michael gave the other man a smile. “That was nice.”

“That was part of my apology. I’ll give you the rest of it some other time.” Ray gave him a wink before walking out.

Michael’s grin widened as he watched the other man walk. He couldn’t wait to get to the rest.

~

Ryan looked up, watching as Ray and Michael entered the room. Michael gave him a thumbs up, causing Ryan to smile. Ray immediately headed towards the gent, most likely to invite the man over so they could talk. Jack had not arrived, yet, and Geoff was busy on his computer doing Geoff things. Which gave Michael the perfect opportunity to talk to Gavin.

Sitting down in his chair, Michael noticed that Gavin was hard at work editing a video. Taking his time turning on his computer, Michael tapped on Gavin’s knee to get the Brit’s attention. Startled, Gavin looked over to see Michael staring at him. Pulling off his headphones, he grinned at the other, though Michael could tell it was strained. “What’s up, boi.”

“Hey, boi. So I’ve was being a piece of shit yesterday and I want to make it up to you. Go to lunch with me? I’m paying for it.”

Michael watched, confused, as Gavin swallowed, eyes a bit wide. “Really?”

“Yeah, boi. Anywhere you want, my treat.” Michael’s smile wavered. “Is that ok?”

Gavin instantly brightened up. “Of course it’s ok. How can I pass up a free lunch with my boi?”

Michael felt that familiar warmth he always got whenever he’s able to make one of his mates’ smile. Relaxing, Michael fell back into his usual pattern with everyone. Which included being able to shit on Gavin without feeling guilty for it.

But anytime Michael happened to look at Geoff, he caught the gent frowning at him.

~

Michael was at the door before they even got a chance to knock, causing Ryan and Ray to give him surprised looks. “Sup, guys.”

“Hey.” Ryan recovered quickly, holding up a couple of brown bags. “Got the food.”

“I know, I could smell it while you guys were in the hallway. Smells fucking good.” Michael eagerly helped them carry the food to the table and split everything up. They made small talk as they stuffed their faces. It was only when they had moved to the living room that Michael spoke up again. “So, Ryan.”

“Uh-oh, am I in trouble?” Ryan joked. Ray and he ended up on the couch, with Michael sitting on the chair next to them.

Ray smiled and snuggled closer. “Not unless you want to be.” He winked at Michael.

Michael rolled his eyes and Ryan shook his head. “Actually, the reason we invited you over is to talk to you about our relationship. And the possibility of adding Gavin.”

Ryan sat up straighter. “Gavin?”

Michael nodded. “Yeah. Ray and I talked earlier about maybe it’s time to add him? But we wanted to ask you first and see how you felt about it.”

“Oh. So, you too already talked about it?” Ryan asked, voice a bit stiff. Michael noticed the way he shifted slightly away from Ray.

The dragon frowned. “Yeah…does that bother you?”

Ryan shrugged. Ray sat up, turning so he could face the other man. “Come on, man. Don’t shut down on us now. You’re all about communication, right.”

Ryan sighed. “Yeah.” The two waited as he struggled for his words. “Sometimes…I feel like you guys make…decisions…without me. It seems like you and Michael talk to each other first and then you relay whatever you decided to me.”

“You’re feeling left out.” Michael realized. Ryan gave him a nod, eyes looking down. “Oh, Ryan. You know we wouldn’t purposefully do that.”

Ray nodded along. “We’re sorry. Do we do this a lot?”

Ryan smiled a little. “I…don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m overacting. It just feels like you guys go on dates and then if one of you are busy, you call me to hang out. I sometimes feel like I’m a third wheel, sort of.”

Ray and Michael looked at each other. “Ryan, that’s not even close to how we feel about you.” Michael got up so he could kneel in front of Ryan, hands on the man’s legs. “We had no idea you felt this way.”

Michael could still feel how nervous Ryan was. “You don’t think I’m overreacting, do you?”

Ray hugged the man. “Of course not. And even if you were, you could still tell us. Dumb or not, you should feel comfortable enough to come to us and talk about it.”

“Yeah.” Ryan smiled, cheeks red. “Ok, ok. Enough of this mushy business. We were talking about Gavin.”

“Well, I was thinking of asking Gavin out. But now I’m thinking we need to put more focus on you.” Michael began rubbing circles on Ryan’s leg.

“What, no. You shouldn’t have to do that.” Ryan protested.

“If we add Gavin, it’s going to split our attention even more. Let’s focus on you before we go dating others, ok?” Ray reassured. “Speaking of. I know you said before that you like the rest of the guys. Do you still feel that way?”

“Absolutely,” Ryan said quickly. He grabbed one of Michael’s hands and one of Ray’s. “I have feelings for all of them and can’t wait to date them too.”

“But…” Michael prompted.

Ryan smiled. “But. I still do kind of want to take things slow. If that’s alright? Not for much longer, but maybe for a few more weeks?”

Michael smiled. “I think we can handle that.” Then he leaned forward to bring Ryan into a slow kiss. They only broke apart so Ray could take his turn.

Warmth spread through Michael’s chest as he watched the two of them. He couldn’t wait to share this feeling with the others.


	21. Instinct to Mate-Michael and Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Ryan had a fun date. Now they do something else that's fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just some nice smut. Warning: Includes knotting

“Man, that movie fucking _sucked,_ ” Michael groaned.

“What? Are you telling me that you didn’t want to see an hour and a half of a man whining about losing his wife while violently blasting badly CGI aliens?” Ryan asked. The two were taking their time riding the elevator up to Ryan’s apartment, half a bag of popcorn in Michael’s hands and a soda in Ryan’s.

Michael rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “No. I can’t say I really liked watching bad lasers and a poorly written script. I mean, did you hear how it started out? That narrator sounded like that was his first time reading the script. And the actor who played the main guy-Drew?-wasn’t any better. Even if he was, I doubt he could really do anything with his character. He was written so _badly_.” Michael put on a gruff mocking tone. “ _My entire character is written around the fact that I miss my wife but three seconds into meeting this random chick and I’m ready to bang.”_

The two looked at each other for a second. Then they burst out laughing. The elevator dinged and the two got off, laughing their way down the hallway. They stopped right outside Ryan’s door. Once Michael was able to get himself together, he gave Ryan another smile. “So? Good date?”

“I got to laugh at a shitty movie and eat buttery popcorn.” Ryan’s smile was lopsided, and it made Michael’s heart skip a beat to smell how _happy_ was. “So yeah. Good date.”

“I’m glad. We should do this again. Maybe as a group date? Get Ray out of that house of his?” Michael suggested.

“Sounds perfect.”

The two stood, looking at each other. They sort of shuffled around. Finally, Michael asked. “Sooooo.”

“So?”

“Wanna give me a kiss? For dropping you off?” Michael waggled his eyebrows, getting a chuckle out of Ryan.

“I don’t know.” Michael shivered at the accent Ryan let leek through. The older man leaned closer, eyes falling to half-mast. “What if my Mama is watching us?”

“I’ll be the perfect gentleman. Pinkie promise.” Michael leaned forward, getting into Ryan’s personal space.

“And if I don’t want you to be a gentleman?”

“Then it’s a good thing I had my fingers crossed.”

The two met in the middle, lips pressed together. Michael’s hands went to Ryan’s waist. Ryan tangled his fingers in Michael’s curls, bringing the dragon in closer.

Michael pushed Ryan back against his door, taking advantage of the way Ryan was left gasping. His fingers slid themselves under Ryan’s shirt, drumming slightly against Ryan’s warm skin. When the two broke away, forced to take deep breaths, Michael dived in to lap at Ryan’s throat. Ryan moaned, head jerking back to allow Michael room.

“Maybe we- _uh_ -we should move this inside?” Ryan managed to get out.

Michael gave him a light nip before backing away to allow Ryan to turn around so he could try to open his door. But he didn’t leave Ryan alone for long. While Ryan fumbled with his keys, Michael plastered himself against Ryan’s back. He let his hands wander, running his fingertips through the light hair on Ryan’s chest and playing with the edge of Ryan’s pants. Michael would allow his hands to brush over Ryan’s zippers every now and then. He could feel the way Ryan was shaking and gave a low laugh.

Ryan looked over his shoulder to glare at him. “Maybe you could give me a few seconds to get the door open?”

“Nah.” Michael drew out. He gave Ryan a small squeeze, enjoying the way heat rushed to his cheeks. “I kind of like it here.”

Ryan stuck his tongue out but eventually got his door unlocked. They fell through, hands grabbing at each other as Ryan lead them back to his room. Shoes were kicked off, followed by shirts and Michael got a good laugh watching Ryan jump around trying to kick off his pants.

The two tumbled onto Ryan’s bed, Michael hovering over Ryan. They were kissing, boxers still on. Michael’s thumb rubbed a circle on the skin of Ryan’s hip. Michael pulled back to look at Ryan. The older man was flushed, chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes were bright, soft lips opened slightly.

“Fuck, man.” Michael breathed.

Ryan gave a crooked grin. “Yeah? You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Michael gave a small chuckle before he started kissing his way down Ryan’s chest. Ryan squirmed beneath him. Michael stopped just right above the band of Ryan’s underwear. Teasingly, he pulled it back slightly, kissing at each piece of skin revealed. Ryan’s hands were insisted where he pushed at his head, trying to will Michael lower.

Michael smirked, looking up at Ryan’s desperate eyes. “What? You want to me do something?”

Ryan scowled. “Yes, fucker. You know what I want.”

“I don’t know if I do, though. Unless you tell me?” Michael skittled his fingers up Ryan’s thigh, purposefully skirting around Ryan’s thickening cock.

Ryan growled and thrust his hips up. “Fucking jerk me off.”

Michael smirked. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” Still, ever so slowly, he pulled Ryan’s underwear down, licking his lips as Ryan’s thick cock sprang out. He wrapped his hand around the length and began stroking, long pulls of his hand.

Ryan had his eyes squeezed shut, hips thrust up into Michael’s hand. Michael bent down to lick the mushroom head, groaning at the taste of salty pre-cum. Hands wrapping in his hair let him know that Ryan was demanding more.

He took the tip into his mouth, giving gentle sucks, before licking his way up and down the side. When he reached the top again, the took Ryan in again, this time deep throating him. Ryan encouraged him with whimpers and hips thrusting up and fingers gripping his hair tight.

Eventually, Ryan had to beg Michael to stop. “Please, please. I’m going to cum if you don’t stop.”

Michael grinned around Ryan’s cock. He pulled off with a small pop. “Need a second?”

Ryan took a couple of deep breaths. “Yeah. Just a second.”

Michael nodded, getting up to grab the lube. When he returned, he lubed up two of his fingers. “Ready?” He asked.

Ryan took another breath and let it out slowly. “Ready.”

Michael sunk in one finger. It was hot and tight and, with the lube, wet. It didn’t take long at all to add another finger, scissoring Ryan open. Ryan gasped as one of Michael’s fingers brushed against his prostate. Michael paused, then pushed against it again. And again. He couldn’t stop looking at the way Ryan’s head whipped back and forth against the pillows, eyes closed tight. His legs were spread wide open to allow Michael plenty of room.

When he felt Ryan was efficiently stretched, he started to pull his fingers out. But Ryan stopped him. “Wait, wait.”

Michael froze. “What?”

Ryan bit his lip. “I want to. Well, I was hoping actually that I could, uh, that I could take your knot?”

A shiver went down Michael’s spine. His dick twitched. “Really? I mean, are you sure?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’m sure. Really, really sure. I want it.”

Michael licked his lips. “Ok, yeah sure.” He went back to stretching Ryan open, adding a third and then a fourth finger.

Ryan’s eyes were glazed over. “Fuck, Michael. I feel so full.”

Michael chuckled. “Wait until your stuffed full of my knot.”

Ryan moaned, head falling back.

Michael took his sweet time stretching Ryan open, wanting to make sure Ryan’s first knotting went well. He didn’t stop till Ryan’s knees were shaking.

Finally, he pulled his fingers out, wiping the left-over lube on his dick. He closed his eyes as he fully stroked himself. Ryan spread his legs as Michael moved in-between them. “Ready?”

“I’m so ready, Michael, please. Please.”

That was all Michael needed. He gripped the base of his dick and then began to push inside Ryan’s gaping hole. Both let out deep moans. Michael kept pushing, letting the heat swallow him up. Ryan had his eyes squeezed shut. Michael’s nails were digging into the skin of Ryan’s hips. He didn’t stop pushing till he was all the way in, balls pressed tight against Ryan’s ass. They both took a moment to breathe. Then Michael started thrusting.

The thrusts were slow, Michael pulling out and then pushing back in. Michael lifted Ryan’s hips up, trying to get closer as his pace started to speed up. Michael was panting, skin slapping against skin. Ryan was gripping his shoulders, pulling Michael closer. They kissed, desperate and messy.

Michael fucked Ryan faster and faster, his stomach twisting in pleasure. He reached down to grab Ryan’s cock, stroking Ryan. The base of his own cock was throbbing, his knot starting to inflate.

Ryan gasped, and Michael groaned as Ryan tightened around him. Cum sputtered in-between them, over Ryan’s stomach. Michael deepened his thrust, grinding his knot into Ryan’s hole. He pushed and pushed and pushed until his knot popped inside. Ryan whimpered and clenched again. Michael gave a few more thrust, desperately grinding his knot inside Ryan, until he started to cum.

Michael flopped down onto Ryan, making Ryan let out a huff. They laid there, breathing hard. “I’m a fucking mess.” Ryan managed to pant out. “I need a shower.”

“You’re going to have to wait a fucking minute. Kind of tied up at the second.” Michael moved his hips a little, causing his knot to tug at Ryan’s entrance. Ryan groaned.

“Fuck, I feel so full,” Ryan said. “You’re still coming, and I can feel it. Fuck, fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s going to happen for a while,” Michael smirked down at him.  He rubbed Ryan’s stomach slightly. “Are you good?”

“Perfect.”

“Great. Because I plan to do that again. And again. And again.”


	22. Interlude: Ryan and Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan overthinks everything and Jack just wants a date.

Ryan was sure that he had made a mistake. A huge mistake. A terrible mistake.

The room’s filled with yelling and laughter as they record the newest raid in Destiny. He can hear Gavin squeaking over in his corner, Michael shouting at Geoff. Ryan can feel his blood boiling in his veins as he argues with Jack about the best way to complete the fucking task, but the most frustrating part?

He couldn’t kiss the man when they finally won.

It was his own fault, Ryan knew that. He had made such a big deal about going slow with Ray and Michael, that it was for the best of their relationship. And he _knew_ that was, damn it. But knowing it and having to deal with all these feelings for the others that he couldn’t express was annoying. He wanted to kiss and make up with Jack, he wanted to kiss Geoff as he handed the man another glass of alcohol, he wanted to kiss Gavin whenever the man did something brilliant in a video game. Heck, he wanted to be allowed to kiss Michael and Ray in front of everyone without it being weird.

Don’t get him wrong. The past month, after his talk with the two lads, had been great. All the previous anger, that insecurity that he was more of a third wheel than an actual partner in their relationship had finally been settled. They spoke more to him, included him in every decision, and they both set up days where they would each go on separate dates to make sure no one was left out. Ryan had never been happier. And it showed as their relationship continued to improve.

Except, he was still in love with three other co-workers. And his current relationship was being kept a secret.

Sighing, Ryan leaves the office, with orders to get everyone a drink. The rest of the guys are still celebrating, happily talking with each other. Michael and Ray have wide smiles on their faces. Ryan feels a small pang in his chest but ignores it. He knows, one day, he’ll be able to go over, touch the small of their back and kiss their cheek, tell them how much he loves hearing their voices. He just has to be patient.

Ryan makes it all the way to the kitchen before he realizes that Jack has followed him. He gives the bearded man a grin. “Still mad at me?”

“Oh, I’m furious.” Jack grins back. He walks past Ryan to reach up into some cabinets, pulling out a cup. “That was a fucking fun video.”

“I can’t wait for the tens of people to see it,” Ryan jokes. He pulls out a couple of red bulls, a Jack Daniels bottle, and starts to fill up a cup of coffee. “But really, I’m glad we got that finished. Now I can never play Destiny again.”

“Are you still claiming that you only play Destiny because of work?” Jack asks.

“Yes because it’s true,” Ryan retorts.

“Sure.” Jack teases but lets it go. They stand there in silence for a bit, Ryan waiting for the coffee to get done, Jack sipping at his water. Eventually, Jack coughs, getting Ryan’s attention again. “So.”

“So?”

Jack palms the back of his head. “I was wondering. If, maybe.” Jack takes a deep breath. “Would you like to go to dinner with me? Saturday night?”

Ryan blinks in surprise, mouth falling open. “As a…?

“As a date,” Jack confirms. He stares straight at Ryan, never looking away. Ryan must admit, he admires Jack for that courage.

Ryan meant to say no. He meant to tell Jack that he was already seeing Ray and Michael, and while they would all love to date Jack, they just needed time to work on some things. Ryan meant to tell himself, _patience_ , that it would be worth it, in the end, to wait.

Instead. Ryan opens his mouth and says “Yes.”

~

Ryan waits till everyone has gone to lunch, shyly waving back at Jack as he leaves, before he turns towards Ray and Michael and made his announcement. “I’ve fucked up.”

The lads pause in what they were doing to turn and stare at Ryan. “What?”

Ryan takes a deep breath. “Earlier, when Jack and I left to get drinks. He asked me out on a date.” Ryan pauses again. “I said yes.”

The two continue to stare at him before Michael blurts out “What?”

“Look, I’m sorry. Well, I’m not sorry for saying yes, because I do want to go on a date with him, but I’m sorry I’m the reason you couldn’t ask Gavin out and I’m sorry for saying we should focus on us and being a hypocrite and-and-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ryan slow down,” Michael says, standing up and walking towards him. “We can’t understand you rushing over your words like that.”

Ryan’s face reddens but he takes a deep breath and calms himself. “I’m sorry,” He says again.

“We got that part.” Ray is smiling at him as he follows behind Michael. “That’s about the only thing we got.”

“How about starting over?” Michael asks.

Ryan takes another deep breath. Then another. “Jack asked me out. And I said yes.”

“Ok, and? Are you excited?” Ray asks.

“Well, I mean. Yes. But-“

“Look, Ryan. It’s fine. We’ve talked about this. We want to date the others yeah?”

“Yeah but-“

“Then this is a great first step.” Michael nods along as Ray speaks.

Ryan looks back and forth between them, frowning. “Why aren’t you guys mad at me?”

“Why would we be mad?” Michael asks, cocking his head.

Ryan throws his hands forward. “I’m the one who stopped you from asking out Gavin! I said we need to focus on _us_ and now I’m going on date with someone else, adding someone else to this.”

“ _Ryan._ It’s fine, really.” Michael assures him. “Really. If you changed your mind, and it seems like you have, about adding people to our relationship than that’s fine. We aren’t going to be mad about.”

“Besides,” Ray pipes up “it’s not like he asked us on a date. He asked you. If we explain to him that you’re also dating us, and he’s fine with that, then we can ease him into our relationship. Or, if he’s not comfortable dating us and just wants to date you, then we’ll deal with that. It’s just going to take some talking.”

Ryan leans back in his chair. “I…your right. I guess I just feel a little guilty.” He gives them a sheepish smile.

Ray shrugs. “It’s not like that was the one time we could ask Gavin on a date. There’s always tomorrow. Now.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Ryan. “Tell us about your plans for this date.”

~

Ryan feels a lot calmer than he thinks he should be as he walks into the fancy little restaurant that Jack and he had agreed on. Jack had already texted him, telling Ryan that he had their seats and was waiting inside.

Ryan thinks he should be freaking out. He had been agonizing over it all week, obsessively trying to go over all the details (what to talk about besides work, how was he going to bring up Michael and Ray, how can he work in that he wants to date the others, what if the food wasn’t good, what if the waiter was rude or they sat next to someone who didn’t like two men being on a date), but as he walks into the restaurant, he just feels…calm.

And happy as soon as he catches sight of Jack.

Jack looks good, in his suit. It’s obvious to Ryan, who spends every day with the guy, that Jack had taken the time to trim his beard and clean himself up. Ryan appreciates that.

“You look nice,” Jack says as soon as Ryan sits down, and the waiter leaves to fill their drink orders.

“I feel nice,” Ryan replies, smile wide. He waits a second before adding. “Oh. You look decent as well.”

“Asshole.” But Jack’s voice is warm.

The dinner feels natural. It’s easy to talk to Jack. Unlike with Michael and Ray, who were younger than him, Ryan feels like he connects with Jack about their shared life experiences. Jack is happy talking about anything, from going on rants about movies to playfully argue with Ryan about things they fought about at work.

The food is excellent and the atmosphere cozy as they talk the night away. Apparently too warm and inviting though, as Ryan slips up “…Ray and I were talking about it during our last date and Ray made a good point when he said-“

“Wait. What?” Jack interrupts.  He tilts his head, frowning, as Ryan freezes. “Date?”

 _Fuck._ Ryan hadn’t meant to have this talk with Jack until the end of the night. It’s too late now. Swallowing, he forces a grin on his face. “Yeah, so about that. I may be dating Ray.”

Jack’s eyebrows go up.

“…and Michael,” Ryan adds. He takes one look at Jack’s blank face and rushes to continue. “Don’t worry, they know about you and each other. We’re all dating. Each other I mean. And they may want to date you too, at some point. But you don’t have to! If you don’t want to that is. And-and-and.” Ryan sighs. He was babbling again. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“You didn’t exactly give me a chance, with how fast you are talking,” Jack says, and he sounds amused. That was good, right? “So…all three of you are dating?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, damn. I thought I was going to be your first.”

Ryan sputters. “Wait. What?”

Jack shrugs. “Come on, Ryan. Gavin is oblivious to anything that comes remotely close to flirting and Geoff is too much of an asshole to admit his feelings, but you don’t think I wouldn’t notice the tension between all of us? I know you like me and I like you. I also like Geoff, Michael, Gavin, and Ray.”

Ryan tries to wrap his head around that. “Oh.”

Jack’s laugh is almost booming as Ryan turns sheepish. “Yeah, oh. I thought something was going on between Michael and Ray but after the fight the lads seemed to be in, I figured we’ve danced around this long enough. I should have known something was up, I suppose.”

Ryan starts chuckling too, relieved. “Yeah, I’m surprised we’ve been able to get away with it for so long. So you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. If I can handle Michael being a dragon, then I can handle dating six people.”

Ryan’s breath catches in his throat, his stomach dropping once again. “What did you say?”

Jack looks confused at the look of horror Ryan is giving him. “What? About dating-“

“No, no.” Ryan leans forward, gripping the table. “A-About Michael.”

“Oh. You mean about him being a dragon.” Jack waves his hand as if to say _no big deal_. “Yeah, I know about that.”

All Ryan can do was stare at him. Finally, he asks. “How?”

 


	23. Instinct To Reveal 4: The Gang Has A Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has some explaining to do.

Michael flies to Ryan’s apartment, soaring above the clouds. Michael knows that to the humans below, it must sound like thunder anytime his wings flap, cutting through the air, but he doesn’t care. Ryan had sounded strained over the phone, so he figured it must be an emergency. Gods, he hopes it’s not an emergency. Or that something hadn’t happened with Jack. Michael’s mind ran through a hundred possibilities as he lands right outside of Ryan’s apartment complex, thinking his wings away before running up the steps. He slides to a stop outside Ryan’s door and begins to pound on it. He almost falls through when it opens.

He looks to see Ryan standing there in the open doorway, his eyes wide with surprise. “What is it? What happened? Why’d you call me?”

“Oh Michael, I didn’t…expect you so fast.” Ryan looks behind him and Michael notices that Jack is standing there, looking uncertain.

“Well, you know. I have some fast transportation,” Michael says as a way of explanation, hoping Ryan caught his drift. “So, why did you call?”

“I would like Ray to be here before we have this talk,” Ryan says. His voice still sounds strained and Michael doesn’t like how vague he’s being with this “talk”. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

That doesn’t really settle the turning in Michael’s stomach. H gives Ryan a look before walking inside. “Ok then. How about a drink?”

Ryan’s nod is shaky. The wait for Ray doesn’t get less awkward as time goes on. Jack and Ryan keep looking back and forth before glancing at Michael. It’s silent, except for the sound of their drinks clinking against the counter. Michael doesn’t bother with small talk, too wound up for that. He’s left pacing the room, making a conscious effort to keep the smoke he can feel bubbling up his throat from getting out. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Ray shows up, huffing.

The four of them move to Ryan’s living room, sitting down and looking at each other. Ray is the first to speak. “So…what’s up?”

Ryan takes a deep breath before looking at Jack. Then at Michael. “Jack and I were on our date and were talking when Jack mentioned…that well.” He looks at Jack again.

“Michael, I know that you’re a dragon,” Jack says, voice calm. Like he didn’t just say Michael’s biggest secret.

Michael is floored, blinking with his mouth wide open. “Wh-How?”

“I’ve been friends with Joel for a long time-“

“Joel told you!” Michael stands up, anger shooting with him. That motherfucker, wait till he gets his hands on him-

“No, no, no. Joel didn’t tell me.” Jack reassures. “Well, about you anyway. He _did_ tell me about himself.”

“Why?” Michael asks, voice hard. He still feels agitated, fury coursing through him. Because the only reason Joel would have told Jack about being a dragon, that Michael can see, is if Joel was trying to court Jack.

Jack sighs. “Because he needed my help. He was having one of his freakouts, he was too wound up and couldn’t get his wings to disappear. He didn’t know who to call so he came to me. I got him to calm down before I demanded an explanation. And I’ve known ever since. So no, he didn’t out you. And I shouldn’t have either.” Jack looks down. “I’m sorry.”

Michael’s anger is dowsed by the way Jack looks and the true sorrow in his voice. He forces himself to sit down and lower his voice. “Jack, you didn’t out me. I told Ryan and Ray already.” The two nod at Michael’s words. Michael tilts his head. “But if Joel didn’t tell you, how did you know that I was a dragon?”

Jack shrugs. “I started noticing a lot of similarities between the two of you. You both would get possessive at the oddest things. You could lift heavy stuff without breaking a sweat and somehow move incredibly fast. After Joel explained some dragon stuff to me, I started looking things up on my own. A lot I found out to be bullshit but there were a few things I noticed to be true.”

Ryan makes a surprise sound at that. “I’ve been trying to find verified research for weeks! Can you show me some of what you found?”

“Of course,” Jack says.

“So…you just noticed that I was a dragon because you read some stuff? And you just kept it to yourself?” Michael asked.

Jack nods. “I know it’s supposed to be some big secret. I figured if you ever wanted to tell me, you would. You don’t need me trying to force you to come out.”

“I…I don’t know what to say to that,” Michael says. “I…thank you, Jack.”

Jack waves his thanks away. “It’s no big deal.”

“Finding out two of your co-workers are mythical creatures is no big deal?” Ray asks, raising one eyebrow.

Jack smiles. “I’ve known Joel for a while. I honestly consider him one of my best friends. There was no way I was going to out him. That friendship extends to Michael. Plus, you know, the whole having a crush thing on him.” He looks back at Ray. “You’ve kept his secret too.”

Ray grins. “He is my boyfriend. Getting visitation rights to a top-secret facility would probably be hard. Not to mention the sex would be awkward. Too much trouble.”

Michael frowns at him. “Good to know that it was your laziness that prevented you from running away.”

Ray shrugs. “Did you expect something different?” Still, he leans forward to kiss away Michael’s frown.

Jack clears his throat. “Well as long as we’re all being reasonable, it would probably be for the best if we also discussed us.”

“Us?”

Ryan gives them a sheepish grin. “I may have let it slip that we were all dating each other.”

“Loose lips sink ships.” Michael teases but waves off Ryan’s apology. “It’s better to get this out in the open anyway. So. Jack. What do you think?”

Jack grins before leaning forward to bring Michael into a kiss. Michael accepts it, short as it is, grinning as Jack pulls back. “That answer your questions?”

“Hey, what about me?” Ray immediately demands, pushing Michael away. Jack laughs, obliging him.

Michael feels something like pride pounding in his chest as he watches Jack kiss first Ray, then Ryan. It’s perfect to see his mates getting along so well, kissing each other.


	24. Instinct To Ruin Everything: Michael and Everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have been going too well, Michael knows this. So why is he surprised when everything comes crashing down?

Slowly, they started to add Jack to their schedule. Michael went to the movies with Jack one day, the next Ray and he are watching Game of Thrones at Jack’s house, and then the next Ryan was cooking for Jack. Jack would take them mini golfing or snag one of them for lunch. Jack also had the sweetest kisses, and Michael loved snuggling up next to him. Jack, to no-one’s surprise, was a cuddler. Michael enjoyed every chance to exploit that.

Even with how careful they were, they couldn’t help their relationship spilling into the office. And eventually, they stopped caring. There was no PDA, they had more tact than that, but if Michael touched them more than necessary? What could he do but shrug?

He often caught Ray and Ryan with their heads close together, whispering and giggling about something. Or Ryan and Jack sneaking off after getting into an argument, most likely to find a closet and “work out” their issues. Michael found himself leaning close to Ray to see what the other lad wanted to show him, hands automatically finding Ray’s hips. Whenever he passed by Ryan and no one was around, he leaned over to give the Gent a kiss on the cheek.

Michael was floating on cloud nine. His chest felt warm anytime he looked at one of his mates. He could smell his mates’ scents seeping into his skin. He loved picking up small things to surprise them with, loved feeding and taking care of them.

Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to be happy with these new developments.

Geoff and Gavin weren’t stupid. They knew that relationships were changing in the office. Gavin just seemed…sad. Michael caught him glancing at them, often. He had started to reject their offers of taking him to lunch, choosing instead to go to eat with Burnie or Barbara, or basically anyone who wasn’t them. He didn’t accept Michael’s invites to hang out anymore, was spending less and less time with them outside of work. He was always “busy” or had Slow-Mo work to do.

And then the next morning, he would walk in, smelling of another person.

Michael kept his ire down. Gavin was his friend. He would have to accept that they would _just_ be friends. No matter how much his dragon clawed at him to claim Gavin.

Geoff was worse though. He was the exact opposite of Gavin. He would accept every invitation to hang out, which would be perfect, except that he acted like Michael wasn’t even there. At lunch, he would only talk with Ray or laugh with Jack. If Michael tried to add anything to the conversation, Geoff would give him a blank look. Or stop talking altogether.

He rejected the Diet Coke Michael brought him but accepted the one Ryan offered with a grin. He “conveniently” forgot to invite Michael to stuff or made plans on days when Michael was busy.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that too,” Ryan said one night when they were at Ryan’s apartment. They were eating greasy pizza, Michael drinking beer and Ryan his blessed Diet Coke, and Michael had brought it up, almost accidentally.

“You have?” At Ryan’s nod, Michael sighed, shoulders slumping. “Good. I thought I was going crazy.”

“Nope.” Ryan took another large bite. “It’s really weird. You guys used to be such good friends. You said he even knows about you being a dragon?”

Michael nodded, staring down at his pizza with a frown. “Yeah. I can’t think of anything I did recently that would make him hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.”

Michael looked up at Ryan. “Are you sure? Because it certainly seems like he does.”

Ryan pulled Michael close, kissing him on the head. “Trust me. Geoff doesn’t hate you. I think he’s going through something.”

“Maybe we should talk to him?”

“It’s Geoff. Do you see him being forthcoming with any information?”

Michael deflated. “No. He would laugh at us for worrying.”

“Exactly. Either he’ll tell us what’s up or he’ll work out whatever is going on.”

“I guess,” Michael grumbled. “But I can’t help wanting to fix things.” His dragon was pacing inside him, wanting to snap at anyone and anything. He could, maybe, handle one mate disliking him. But two?

Michael closed his eyes and leaned his head on Ryan’s shoulder. Well, he’ll have to find a way.

~

Michael hunched his shoulders and tried to focus on his game. Still, he could feel eyes burning into the side of his face. He glanced up, not surprised to see Geoff staring-well, glaring-at him. He looked back down.

Geoff had been doing that to him all day. It was making Michael’s skin itch. It didn’t help that everyone was glancing at him too. They knew something was up, could feel the tension in the room rising. Right now, the room was silent. No one was in a mood to film, so they settled on doing other things. Michael knew that Gavin was answering emails for Slow-Mo Guy stuff and that Ray was editing some Behind the Scenes stuff. Ryan was away, discussing The Know with Ashley and Jack was out to lunch. Geoff was _supposed_ to be looking at videos or answering Let’s Play family things, but apparently, he was too busy fucking staring at Michael to bother doing his job.

Michael’s teeth clenched, his fangs clanking together. He tried to take a deep breath, reminding himself that he needed to calm down.

 Ray coughed, causing Michael’s leg to twitch.

This wasn’t going to work. He needed to release some energy. Mumbling an excuse, Michael stood up and left.

But he did not leave alone. He was barely down the hallway when he heard the door click open, footsteps following him. The scent-alcohol and burnt things-that followed and the burning gaze still upon his back told him who it was.

Fist clenching, Michael whipped around. “Well.” He demanded.

Geoff stopped abruptly, arms crossing over his chest. He didn’t say anything, just kept staring at Michael.

“What? What is it, Geoff?” Michael was trying very hard not to yell. He didn’t want more attention on them. He just wanted whatever weirdness going on with Geoff to be over with.

Geoff was silent for a long moment. “What are you doing with the others?” He suddenly asked.

That had Michael blinking. “What?”

“I’ve noticed. I know you guys are trying to be sneaky or whatever, but you kind of suck at it. So, what’s going on? What are you guys doing?”

Michael was taken back, both by the question and the cold way Geoff asked. Almost by instinct, he shot back. “Why does it matter to you?”

“You’re my employees if something’s going on that can affect our work area, then as your boss, I should know about it.”

“Really? I thought Trevor was our boss now.” Even Michael didn’t know if he meant it as a joke or as some sort of defense.

“Michael.”

“Geoff.”

They stared at each other.  Finally, Geoff spoke again. “Are you dating Jack?” Straightforward.

“Yes.”

There was silence again. “And Ryan? Don’t bullshit me, I’ve seen the eyes you’ve been making at him.”

Michael didn’t like the accusation that Geoff’s tone implied. “Yeah, I’m dating him too. I’m also dating Ray before you ask.”

“Do they-“

“Yes.” It was growled. He was not up to have this conversation. “They all know about each other. They’re also dating each other. Any more stupid questions?”

Geoff stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “Do they know you’re a dragon?”

“Yes.” Michael threw his hands up. “Fuck, Geoff. What’s with this stick that’s up your ass?”

Geoff seemed shocked by Michael’s answer but bounced back. “What’s up my ass? I’ll tell you. I have a problem with my employees trying to hide their relationship from me!”

“Why do you need to know?” Michael shouted back. “What does this have to do with you?”

“Maybe I just don’t want my friends dating a fucking dragon!”

Deafening silence.

Michael didn’t know how to respond to that. All he could do was stare, mouth wide open, at that. Geoff’s face was flushed, red with anger.

Finally, Michael got his tongue back. “Is that what you think of me? Are you what…worried I’m going to do something?”

“Maybe.” Geoff was still shouting, his voice cracking. “You seemed to be pretty damn close to doing something when I caught you in the bathroom once.”

“Is _that_ what this is about?” Michael asked, still reeling. “You saw me lose control, once, and suddenly I’m dangerous to everyone.”

“All you need to do is lose control once,” Geoff argued. “And I caught you losing control twice.”

“And then what did I do?” Michael demanded. “I got away from everyone. I calmed myself the fuck down. That was, what? Months ago? Has there been another accident?”

Geoff remained silent at that.

“Well, has there?” Michael asked again. When Geoff didn’t answer, he shook his head. “I. I cannot believe that you would think I would do something. Is that why you’ve been treating me like shit these past few weeks?”

“I was worried.” Geoff tried to defend himself, but he had lost that scowl of his.

“And instead of coming to me, you decided to sit on it and stew.” Michael sneered at him. “I can’t believe this Geoff. After years of knowing each other, and this is how you treat me.” His fist clenched.

“Michael-“

“No. You know what Geoff. Fuck you.” Michael turned around, walking away. “Fuck you and fuck this company. I’m taking the rest of the week off. Unless you have a problem with that.” Michael looked over his shoulders at Geoff, narrowing his eyes.

Geoff was looking back, eyes wide. Mutely, he shook his head.

“Good.”

~

Michael didn’t tell the others what happened between Geoff and him. He wasn’t sure if Geoff said anything either. None of his partners had said anything. They all acted like everything was fine. Michael just told them that he needed a week to himself and they gave that to him.

He didn’t know what to feel. There was anger, at being treated like this. Like a beast (like a monster) by his mate of all people. There was some guilt. Guilt at leaving them with one less person to record content with and guilt at leaving without a full explanation to the rest about what really happened.

Then there was the feeling of fear. Fear that what Geoff said was true. When Michael was younger, control had not come easily to him. It took years, centuries, for him to be able to walk among the humans without causing some sort of scene. He had always been quick to anger and it easily showed. Smoke would come out of his nostrils; his eyes would glow. His claws would come out, blackening his fingertips.

Once, long long ago, he had been with a human woman. It had been thrilling, his first time sleeping with a human. What Michael hadn’t noticed at the time was that she had become bothered by his secrets and had begun to sneak around herself. Michael had happened upon her in the middle of having sex with her other lover.

Michael had not been happy. And he was not proud of the way he reacted.

Michael tore them apart. He had gone red with rage; his teeth had been bared. He had jumped on them, faster than they could blink, and his claws dug into flesh. Michael had left the house in ruins and with blood covering him. Then he had flown far, far away.

He had been trying, since then, to get control of himself. It wasn’t in his nature to quell the fire in his soul or suppress his dragon instincts. As time went on though, Michael found he could tell when he needed to lash out and when he needed to hold back.

So Geoff’s worry was something Michael had always been afraid of. He could hurt them. He could _kill_ them.

Maybe it was wrong of him to even be with such fragile humans.

~

At the end of the week, Michael found it hard to convince himself to return to work. What would he say? What could he say?

What would Geoff say?

The morning he went back to work, Michael knew he was purposefully taking longer to get ready. He fiddled with his hair, despite never wearing hair products before (nasty smelling things), but also fretted over his clothing. When he went to pick up breakfast for the crew, he chose a place that was out of his way. Michael must have sat in his car for a good ten minutes, arguing with himself. It wasn’t till he got a text from Ray, asking where he was, that Michael forced himself out. His heart was pumping the entire way he walked to the office and Michael wanted nothing more than to burst through the ceiling and fly away. But he wasn’t a bitch and he could do this.

Taking one deep breath, he walked into the office.

Heads popped up to see who was walking in. He got a smile from Ray and a little wave from Gavin. Behind the desks, he could see Ryan’s hand pop up in greeting and Jack stood up to help him with the food.

But no Geoff.

Michael tried to act casual for the rest of the morning as he waited for Geoff to show up. But he never did. Finally, Michael leaned over to Ray. “Geoff sure is taking his time today, isn’t he?”

Ray gave him an odd look. “Did Geoff not text you?”

“Text me what?”

“He’s taking a sabbatical.” Ray gave a small chuckle, not noticing the way Michael stiffened. “I think that’s a fancy way of saying that he’s tired of us and needs a break.”

“Right,” Michael mumbled before going back to his work. But he couldn’t focus on anything. His mind was too busy racing. A sabbatical? Did Geoff hate him that much that he needed months away from him? Because there was no way that Geoff didn’t take this because of him. They get into a fight and a week later, Geoff leaves?

But for how long. This could take months. Would Geoff really leave them for that long? Michael frowned at his computer. He was conflicted. He was angry, still so angry, at what Geoff had said. What he had been accused of.

Yet there was some guilt. Because while Michael was angry about it, he could understand Geoff’s worry. And now he couldn’t help that that worry was popping up here and there. When he went out with his boyfriends or drank with them or kissed them or fucked them, sometimes he couldn’t help thinking about what would happen if he was to lose control that second.

And now his fight with Geoff had made the man take a break from work. Geoff, who helped start the company. Geoff, who went to work every single day. Who worked every single second of the day. That same, hardworking Geoff was now gone. Taking a break. A sabbatical.

 _Fuck._ Michael thought.

A tap on his shoulder jolted him out his thoughts. Slipping his headphones off, he looked at Gavin. Gavin gave him a small smile. Michael was surprised to find that he could _smell_ the nervousness coming from the Brit. “What’s up, boi?” He forced a smile.

“You seem tense, boi,” Gavin replied. “You want to go out for lunch? Relax a little?”

Michael debated about it. He hadn’t talked all that much with his partners in the last week. But with these new thoughts (was it wrong to be with them? Should he break up? They were so, so fragile) Michael figured he might need this lunch.

“Yeah sure.”

He wasn’t up to recording anything so the others left him to edit while they recorded some games and some behind the scenes stuff. When lunchtime rolled around, Michael silently followed behind Gavin.

Gavin commented on Michael’s behavior during lunch. Michael did what he always did about this kind of stuff-dodge and change the subject. “So what’s up with you?”

“What do you mean?” Gavin asked, fidgeting.

“That.” Michael pointed towards him, talking around his food. “What’s up with that?”

“It’s nothing.” At Michael’s look, Gavin shook his head. “Really, it’s nothing. There’s just been a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?” Michael asked, curious now.

“Just…personal stuff.”

Michael nodded and left it at that.

Or. He tried to.

But Gavin kept making this face at him. Like he wanted to say something but every time would chicken out at the last second. Michael didn’t push him, no matter how much he wanted to shake Gavin and force the answers out of him. The smell of Gavin’s anxiety was almost nauseating and Michael rushed to finish their lunch. They spent the car ride back in silence.

Luckily, when they got back, the others had set up a few games they wanted to get filmed that day. Michael lost himself in the games and pretending everything was ok and almost forgot about Gavin and Geoff and everything to do with that.

Laughing at the stupid stunt they pulled in GTA, Michael felt much better by the end of the day. He caught the looks his partners were giving each other, the small smiles they threw each other. He knew he worried them.

 _I’ll have to plan something special to make it up to them._ Michael mused as he began to pack up. He had gotten waves and a few texts from the others about wanting to meet up for dinner. Michael was too busy responding to them to notice the person waiting for him.

“Michael.”

“Yeah?” Michael replied, a bit distracted. So it came as a complete surprise when someone grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Eyes wide, he stared into Gavin’s hazel ones. The kiss was awkward, with both of their lips chapped and Gavin’s beard scratching against his face.

But it was the feeling of warmth Michael held onto. The fact that after weeks, _months_ , of worrying about if Gavin liked him or not, if he would have to live with the knowledge that Gavin could live his life with someone else. But here, kissing him, that tight knot that had sat in the bottom of his stomach, that space he had pushed all his worries and regrets into, just…went away. He pulled Gavin closer, wanting desperately to hold on to this and keep it-

_You’re dangerous. You could hurt them._

Michael yanked back, panic setting him. For a second, he imagined large red lines crossing down Gavin’s face or his shirt torn to bloody shreds. Then he blinked. And there was nothing. Except for Gavin’s shocked face.

Michael floundered for a second, no good reason coming to his mind about what he just did. Gavin’s mouth opened and closed before he turned around sharply and stormed out, door slamming behind him.

The dragon wondered how he was going to fix this one.


	25. Instinct To Heal And Mate: Michael and Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Michael have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is smut in this chapter, but there is also some important talking. If smut isn't your thing, skip ahead when they start kissing to "Thanks" He whispered.

Michael slams the door to his apartment. He can feel his blood boiling, flames licking at the inside of his mouth. He’s anxious and upset and fuck fuck _fuck_.

He chased Gavin off. Scared the man. He could only imagine what was going through Gavin’s mind when he pushed him away.

Michael can feel his skin pulsing, scales rippling along the flesh. He punches the coffee table sitting in the middle of the living room. It breaks in half with a loud crack.

There is a knock on his door. Michael spins around, baring his teeth at it. The smell of beard cleaner and sweat and something so mistakenly _Jack_ hits his nose _._ “Michael,” Jack calls. His voice is soft, as was the next knock. “Are you there? Are you ok?”

Michael draws back. He clenches his fist and takes a deep breath. Smoke is still trickling out of his mouth but at least his blood is no longer boiling. He can talk now too. “What?” It came out as a growl.

To Jack’s credit, he does not run. “Michael,” and now Jack’s voice is stronger, louder. “Can you let me in?”

Michael looks at the broken table in the middle of his floor. “I don’t think that would be wise.”

Jack pauses. “Well, ok. Then, I’ll just talk to you through this door. Because that’s not weird at all. I’m sure your neighbors will be totally understanding.”

Michael snorts but took the hint. Taking another calming breath, and kicking at the broken glass to try to get it in one place, he walks as calmly to the door as he can. He pulls it open a little too fast, wincing as the door bangs against the wall.

Jack is staring at him. Michael takes another deep breath- _the fear of hurting them sinking its claws into his stomach and he can’t’ do that, can’t do that to any of them, can’t do that sweet Jack-_ and says as normally as he can “Hey, what’s up?”

Jack frowns. “Hey. Is everything alright?”

Michael puts on a smile. “Of course. Did you need something?” His fingers tap against the door.

Jack’s frown deepens. He crosses his arms. “Don’t bullshit me, Michael. What’s going on?”

Michael’s smile turns strained. “Nothing. Everything is fine. If you don’t need anything…” He starts to shut the door.

Jack stops him. “That is the biggest pile of bullshit I’ve ever heard. And I sit next to Geoff and Ryan every day.”

“Jack-“

“Michael.” Jack interrupts him. “What am I to you?”

“What does that have to do anything?”

 “Am I or am I not your partner?”

“Well, of course, you are. What stupid question-“

“And as your partner,” Jack interrupts. “It’s my job to love and support you and help you when you’re going through a tough time. So why won’t you let me help you?”

Michael looks away. “You shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“But I want to. Let me help.” Jack pleads. “Please.”

Michael sighs. Then he steps aside. Jack gives a small smile, saying thanks as he passes. To Jack’s credit, he barely blinks when he catches sight of the broken table. Michael gestures for him to take a seat.

“I kissed Gavin,” Michael says as they start to sit down.

Jack stumbles a bit, giving Michael a wide eye look, before taking his seat. “You kissed Gavin?”

“Well. Gavin kissed me,” Michael corrects. “I sort of freaked out and pushed him away.”

“And then what? Did you say anything to Gavin?” Jack asks.

Michael stays silent.

“Ok. Did Gavin say anything?”

Michael shakes his head.

“Well. Shit,” Jack says.

“That about sums it up.” Michael lays his head in his hands.

“Ok, but there’s nothing to freak out about. Just text Gavin and ask him on a date.”

“That’s the problem, Jack. I don’t know if I should.”

“Why?” Jack tilts his head. “You like Gavin, right?”

“Of course, I do. But. Jack.” Michael looks at him. “I don’t…think I should…be dating any of you.”

Jack goes silent. “What are you saying?” He asks silently.

“Look, Jack.” Michael begins to twist his fingers with each other. “You guys are human. I’m a dragon. I could hurt you. I _have_ hurt humans in the past- “

“And have you hurt any of us?” Jack breaks in.

“But, Jack, I _could_. I could hurt you. Badly. I could kill you. One day, just lose my temper and your all gone. And I can’t handle that.”

“Michael. Don’t you think that this is part of our choice? I knew, going in, that you were a dragon. Ryan and Ray know too. You haven’t lied to us about what you are. We stayed dating you through all your dragonish.” Jack gets up and bent down in front of Michael. “Remember how you burnt the counter when you accidentally dropped a pan on your foot because you were surprised? Did we run then? Or when your wings accidentally popped out while Ray was giving you a blowjob? Did we run then? Or when your claws accidentally ripped through my shower curtains? Or when you threatened to fly off with Ray? Did we run any of those times?”

Michael frowns. “No, but-“

“But nothing. We didn’t run before. So what makes you think that we would start running now?”

“I don’t know.” Michael shrugs. “Geoff and I got into an argument and he made some comments that got me thinking.”

“Michael, whatever Geoff said, and trust me we're going to have a conversation about that later, you have to know that Geoff doesn’t speak for us. And I certainly can’t speak for Ryan or Ray or anyone else. But please know, there aren’t many things you can do that will make me run away.”

Michael looks into Jack’s eyes. Then he leans forward, drawing Jack into a kiss. Jack lets him, cradling Michael’s face.

When they draw back, they stare at each other. Then Michael stands up, took Jack’s hand, and leads him to his bedroom.

Turning around, Michael kisses Jack again. It’s scratchy, with Jack’s beard in the way, but Jack’s soft lips provide a great contrasting feel to it. Slowly, Michael slips of Jack’s clothes. With each piece he threw to the floor, Michael whispers his thanks into Jack’s skin.

Jack is kneeling on the bed, completely naked, as Michael lays over his back. Two fingers are already stretching Jack open. Michael keeps going, marking up Jack’s neck, and listening to the way Jack gasps and moans and cries for Michael.

Michael adds a third finger, abusing Jack’s prostate until Jack comes, spurting against Michael’s bed.

Michael draws back and waits for Jack to catch his breath. Only when Jack gives the go-ahead did Michael slowly enter him. Both groan. Jack twists his head so the two of them can kiss.

It’s slow lovemaking. Michael takes his time, trying to make sure both feel pleasure. Jack is snug around his cock, squeezing anytime Michael fully thrusts into him. Michael’s thrust are slow, but hard, skin slapping against skin.

Jack was already sensitive from coming already, so it doesn’t take long for him to come again. Especially when Michael’s hands creep down to wrap around his cock. With Jack squeezing around him, so so tight, Michael can’t help speeding up slightly. With a loud moan, he comes inside Jack.

The two flops to the side, sweaty and exhausted. Michael doesn’t care though, as he wraps his arms around Jack and brings the man closer.

“Thanks.” He whispers.

Jack runs his fingers through Michael’s hair. “Of course. I love you, Michael. I’m here to help and support you.”

Michael snuggles his way into Jack’s chest. “Geoff just…really got to me.”

“You guys got into a pretty bad fight?”

“You know that week that I took off all off a sudden and didn’t really talk to you guys?” Jack nods. “That was after Geoff and I fought. And I think…that Geoff might have taken his sabbatical because he wants to avoid me.”

“So. Yeah. Pretty bad fight. Got it,” Jack says. “And Geoff?”

“Said he didn’t like the idea of a _dragon_ dating his friends.”

Jack sighs. “Well, fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly. And normally I don’t give a fuck about those kinds of things. But this is coming from Geoff. So, it’s been bugging me. I guess it’s been bugging me more than I thought because I sort of freaked out when Gavin kissed me.” Michael mumbles.

“I’m sure everything is going to be fine,” Jack assures him. “Gavin and you can definitely talk this out.”

“And Geoff and I?” Michael asks.

Jack is silent for a moment. “That one, we’re going to have to see.”


	26. Interlude: Jack and Geoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack goes to talk with Geoff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think about this chapter. A litter nervous, but I think this is the best I have ever written Jack.

Jack had debated if this was a good idea. Sure, it was none of his business. Geoff was a dear friend (and long-time crush) and Michael was his boyfriend. If he was smart, he’d stay out of it and let the two sort through their feelings.

But it was never in Jack’s nature to stay neutral. Especially not when Jack can clearly see the way Michael is struggling with this. He can’t leave it alone, not when this is going to affect everyone’s work relationships.

Of course, with it also affecting his _romantic_ relationships, there was nothing that could convince Jack that it wasn’t a good idea to get up early the morning after spending the night with Michael and drive himself to the sleepy side of town, where Geoff lived.

Jack had been to Geoff’s many times (as a coworker, then friend). A comfortable place to live with its neatly trimmed lawn and two-story house. Jack knew, intimately, the inner workings of the house, had sat many times at the dining table, knew what splaying out on the couch felt like-so comfortable he could feel his whole body sinking into the leather-as the two watched T.V. He’s seen the backyard, with its flourishing garden and the special spot Geoff kept his BBQ pit.

But Jack did not feel calm he as he looks at the house. The curtains are drawn, the grass has grown weedy in certain areas. The house looks sad, untaken care of. Jack chews his bottom lip and scratches at his wrists. But he's here now and the desire to soothe Michael’s fears pushes him forward.

Knocking at the door feels loud. Echoing. He can hear shuffling and the wild thought of _this was it, his last chance to run_ hit him.  Then the door opens and Jack has nowhere to go.

Baggy eyes look up at him, an unkempt beard hiding the rest of his face. Geoff is slumped, his whole body seemingly has shrunken in on himself.

“What,” Geoff barks. His voice is gruff, rusty as if he hadn’t used it for a while.

Jack blinks at him, not able to form words. It's only when Geoff repeats his question, annoyance thick, that he shakes himself out of it. He frowns. “Are you alright, man?”

“Yeah. Fine. What do you want?”

“I, uh, came here to talk to you.”

“Well, you’re talking to me. Now what?”

Jack grits his teeth, the first stirrings of true anger coiling around in his stomach. “Can you stop being an asshole for two seconds?”

“Probably not.” Geoff shots back.

Jack doesn’t let that deter him from what he had come for. “I talked to Michael, asked him what was going on. He told me everything.”

Geoff’s eyes dart away, but he does not back down. “I’m _sure_ he did.”

“Geoff, for fuck's sake. It’s Michael! You know, the guy you’ve hired for years and had been a close friend too?”

Geoff’s shoulders hunch. “You don’t know shit, Jack.”

“I know enough!” Jack yells, something in him finally snapping at the way the Geoff keeps trying to brush this aside.

“Fuck you, you do,” Geoff says. “Whatever Michael told you, it wasn’t everything.”

“And why wouldn’t he have told me everything?” Jack grounds out.

Geoff opens his mouth, a sharp retort read before he snaps it close. He looks to the side, over Jack’s shoulder and stares hard, shoulders slumping. “Jack.” And Jack can hear how _tired_ Geoff sounds. “Can we just drop it?”

It hits Jack then. “Wait, you don’t know that I know Michael is a dragon?”

Geoff’s eyes widen. “Wait, _you_ know too?”

Jack considers Geoff for a moment longer. Then he looks behind Geoff. “Can I come in?” He smiles, something tiny. “Maybe get something to drink?”

Geoff gives him a long look. Finally, he steps to the side. “Sure.”

They walk to Geoff’s living room. Jack sits down as Geoff makes his way towards the kitchen. A moment later, Geoff returns with two Diet Cokes. “No alcohol?” Jack jokes.

Geoff shakes his head. “Nah, I haven’t felt like drinking for a while.”

“Really? That’s unlike you.”

Geoff shrugs. “It just tasted…I just don’t like it anymore.”

Jack nods and leaves it at that. They stare at each other for a bit before Jack starts again. “Geoff, I know Michael is a dragon.”

“Apparently.”

“And so do you.”

“That’s obvious.”

“So, let’s talk about this. First, how much do you know about what’s going on?”

“I know Michael is a dragon. I know that the four of you; Michael, Ryan, Ray, and you, are dating each other.”

Jack nods. “So. You got into a fight with Michael. What’s that about?”

Geoff isn’t looking at him, choosing instead to scratch at the scraggly mess he calls a beard. “I don’t really know, Jack, honestly. I’ve just been having this…feeling.”

“And that lead to you accusing Michael of hurting us?” Jack asks. Shaking his head, he amends. “Sorry, sorry. Shouldn’t have jumped to that. So, you haven’t been feeling good?”

“I haven’t been feeling satisfied.” Geoff groans. “I don’t know, Jack. I just don’t. I don’t feel satisfied with work, I don’t feel satisfied with what I do in my free time, I just don’t feel satisfied with anything. Mostly I just feel… _tired_.”

Jack looks at Geoff. Geoff looks back. “Why haven’t you said anything before? Does Burnie know?”

“Of course, he knows, how do you think I was able to get a sabbatical so fast?”

“So why not tell us?” Jack asks again.

Geoff looks away and shrugs.

Jack licked his lips. “Ok. Why not tell me, then?” That gets Geoff to look back at him. “I’ve been your friend for…fuck, how many years? And I didn’t know anything about this?” Jack is kicking himself for this. Why did it take so long to see that his friend is suffering? Fuck, he should have seen this. So why didn’t he?

Geoff snorts. “Well, it’s not like I wanted anyone to know.”

“But why?” Jack presses.

“Fuck, I don’t know man.” Geoff throws his hands in the air. “What do you want from me? I wasn’t feeling good, haven’t been feeling good for a while, and I just didn’t…I couldn’t…fuck, I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking, Jack. I wasn’t really thinking about anything. I looked at all of you and I saw Michael and Ray happy, then saw how Ryan and you looked at them and how Gavin kept going on and going on about you guys, and it was like I was left standing there. Alone. And you guys were pulling away from me and finding each other. Without me. How could I talk you about anything with all of that going on?” He looks at Jack. "How can I talk to you without letting this jealousy taint my words? Look what I did with Michael. I can't say anything about anything without making it worse." 

Jack let Geoff’s words hang out there as he settles back against the couch. “Have you thought about maybe seeing a therapist?”

Geoff shrugs. “Maybe.” He looks down at his hands. “You’d think it would help?”

“I think anything is better than you sitting on these feelings.”

Geoff blows out a breath. He leans back and looks to the right, through the windows and to outside. Jack looks too and the two of them watched as a kid biked past. “I’m serious, Geoff. This isn’t healthy for you. Especially if it has you blowing up at a close friend.”

Geoff gives Jack a little smile at that. “He hates me, doesn’t he?”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s hurt, shocked, and confused. But I don’t think he hates you. I can’t guarantee that it’ll stay that way if you don’t talk to him.”

Geoff goes back to staring outside. “I’ll try.”

Jack nods. “I suppose I should leave. Michael will probably be wondering where I’m at.”

Geoff gets up to show Jack to the door. Jack hesitates. “You know, Geoff.” He looks at Geoff, saw Geoff staring back. He licks his lips. “I see the way you look at us too. You don’t have to be left behind.”

Geoff blinks at him and Jack left.

 


End file.
